Ruth Asawa

The Faces Of Ruth Asawa
2022-07-06 11:00 - 2026-07-06 17:00 UTC | Cantor Arts Center, 328 Lomita Drive at Museum Way, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States
From the mid-1960s through 2000, Asawa created hundreds of individual face masks out of clay. With the Cantor’s Asian American Art Initiative, this wall of 233 masks becomes a permanent part of their collection.
The Asian American Art Initiative (AAAI) transforms Stanford into the leading academic and curatorial center for Asian American art. Alexander and Marci Kwon, assistant professor in Stanford’s Department of Art and Art History, serve as AAAI co-directors. As part of the initiative, the Cantor works to build the preeminent collection of Asian American art at a university art museum.
The Cantor acquired Untitled (LC.012, Wall of Masks) in 2020. On July 6, 2022, they go on long-term view at the museum, marking the first time this work has been shown in its entirety at any museum or public institution. The focused exhibition, The Faces of Ruth Asawa, curated by Alexander, features the masks and three vessels by Asawa’s son Paul Lanier. These special vessels were created with clay mixed with the ashes of Asawa, her husband Albert, and their late son, Adam. Upon Asawa’s death—per her request—Lanier took this material and threw a set of vessels, one for each remaining sibling. The three included in The Faces of Ruth Asawa were borrowed from the family. Their inclusion in the exhibition further demonstrates Asawa’s deeply intimate connection to clay.
Hear from Asawa’s family and friends, including mask subjects, about her process making the masks >
The museum is open Wed – Sun, free with reservations. Reserve here >
End date is open-ended.

Five Centuries of Works on Paper: The Grunwald Center at 70
2025-12-20 11:00 - 2026-05-17 18:00 | Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, United States
Since its establishment in 1956 with a gift of prints from Los Angeles collector Fred Grunwald, the UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts has evolved into one of the nation’s foremost collections of works on paper. Over the decades, the Grunwald Center’s holdings have expanded through donations and acquisitions, and now comprise more than 45,000 prints, drawings, photographs, and artists’ books dating from the Renaissance to the present. Housed at the Hammer Museum since 1994, the Grunwald Center fosters learning and discovery through its collection, which is regularly presented in exhibitions and made accessible in its dedicated study room. This exhibition marks the 70th anniversary of the Grunwald Center, celebrating its history through a selection of significant works that reflect the collection’s breadth and diversity. It will feature nearly 100 works by over 90 artists, including Andrea Mantegna, Albrecht Dürer, Hendrick Goltzius, Rembrandt van Rijn, George Cruikshank, Jose Guadalupe Posada, Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, Vassily Kandinsky, Käthe Kollwitz, Pablo Picasso, Grant Wood, Ansel Adams, Norman Lewis, Elizabeth Catlett, Charles White, Corita Kent, Ruth Asawa, Bridget Riley, David Hockney, Ed Ruscha, Analia Saban, and Toba Khedoori.

Gallery Hours
Monday: Closed
Tuesday–Thursday: 11AM–6PM
Friday: 11AM–8PM
Saturday–Sunday: 11AM–6PM

Free for good!
