Ruth Asawa and Jeremy Lin at SF museum

 A funny thing happened to me on the way to an exhibit of the late Ruth Asawa's work.

Taking time off before  going through San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art's (SFMOMA) exhibit of the Asian American artists work, I stumbled upon this art work featuring basketball star Jeremy Lin.

It was part of a huge panel under a large art piece SFMOMA had commissioned for cartoonist and writer Gene Luen Yang,. 

Titled Bay Area Wall series, features a mural inspired by three  basketball legends with a tie to the Bay Area: Fran Belibi, Stephen Curry and Jeremy Lin.

The baskeball mural can be found on the second floor next to the snack bar and will be on exhibit through the month of August.

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SFMOMA is home for the first posthumous retrospective of Ruth Asawa’s work and its inspirations over six decades of her career. As an artist, Asawa forged a groundbreaking practice through her ceaseless exploration of materials and forms. As an educator and civic leader, Asawa’s impact on San Francisco can still be felt today.

The late Ruth Asawa ,literally, in one of her creations.

The Ruth Asawa exhibit features many of the scullptor's signature suspended looped- and tied-wire sculptures alongside lesser-known works, including a selection of her sculptural “miniatures” — the smallest measuring just over one inch in diameter. From vibrant drawings and paintings to clay masks and cast bronze sculptures, more than 300 works give insight into Asawa’s relentlessly experimental vision.

        RELATED: Ruth Asawa inducted into California's Hall of Fame

The Japanesse American artist had a deep connection to San Francisco, her adopted home. One of the galleries evokes the living room of Asawa’s longtime Noe Valley home opens with the artist’s hand-carved redwood doors, and features cases of her sketchbooks, art by friends that she kept on display, and a rich array of the sculptures that once hung from her ceiling. 

Archival materials show how Asawa shaped her adopted hometown through numerous public commissions and her dedication to arts education.

The exhibit included photos of her numerous works of art scattered throughout the SF Bay Area, from her famous mermaid fountain at Ghiradelli Square to her Wall of Internment at San Jose's Japantown.

If you want to view the exhibit, you better hurry. It lasts until August 31, 2025.

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