Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

With a majority Asian population, it is fitting that the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco is the largest American museum focused on Asian arts. Designed by Gae Aulenti, who also designed Musée d'Orsay, the Asian Arts blends modern technology and comfort into spaces for permanent collection and special exhibits amongst its three floors. Third floor focuses on West Asia, South Asia, Tibet and early China. Second floor showcases China, Korea, and Japan. First floor is for special exhibits. It also offers a plethora of amenities from self-guided audio tour to a museum shop and a café.




Truth be told, for a comprehensive historic survey of Asian arts, one might do better with a visit to the British Museum or Taiwan's National Palace Museum. Nevertheless, there is something to be said about getting a good introduction to the culture and arts of the Asian continent without overwhelming a novice. For example, notes on the interactions of Jainism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism in the southern Asian continent provides enough detail to make it interesting without being weighted down by minutea. While the East Asian antiquity tends to be the run-of-the-mill items regularly found in the auction houses of Sotheby's or Christie's, the modern East Asian collection is rather interesting. A series of Japanese bamboo work from the 1960’s in familiar 3-D forms using complex patterns are particularly exquisite.

Be warned. Not unlike an one-day visit to "finish" the Louvre, taking in everything at the Asian Art in one day is a Sisyphean task. For me, I look forward to visiting it again to see the special exhibits and the Tibetan collection.




Asian Art Museum
200 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
T: 415.581.3500
www.asianart.org

Hours
Tue-Sun: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Thu: 10:00 am to 9:00 pm.
First Tuesday of every month free
Closed Mondays, major holidays (New Years Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas)

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