Related Information
Contact:
800.345.SFAI
Contact:
800.345.SFAI
Painting
The Painting Department has been at the forefront of significant developments in painting throughout its history. The idealism and energy of the faculty and students have fostered these achievements, which continue to resonate as important influences in contemporary painting; from the social realism of Diego Rivera, to the abstract expressionist works of Clyfford Still, to the expressionist figuration of David Park and Richard Diebenkorn. The California primitive funk movement had its inception at SFAI as well.
While the department eschews orthodoxy, it demands a thorough grounding and immersion in the history of painting. This philosophy is borne out by the fact that the department is one of the top-ranked programs in the country. It maintains a postmodern, pluralistic view of painting as a discipline, and encourages students to push the boundaries of the medium. Students engage with a multiplicity of painting techniques while developing unique studio practices that identify each student’s most pressing conceptual, technical, and aesthetic concerns. Studio critiques challenge students to address the cultural, personal, political, and conceptual positioning of their work, locating it within the broader discourse of contemporary art and life.
The highly accomplished and diverse faculty encourage experimentation within the medium as a strategy that embraces contradiction and authenticity. Contemporary painting continues to expand in relation to new technologies while maintaining the limitless physical properties of the medium.
Facilities
The Painting Department offers four large painting studios with natural light from the north-facing windows, color-balanced artificial light, balconies, aqua-based brush washing machines, ventilation, a work area for building supports, two drawing studios, a large rackroom for storage, and a critique/slide viewing room. There are also semi-private studios for selected seniors. All of the studios have 24-hour access. Exhibition spaces for paintings are located throughout the campus.
Other Resources
The Bay Area has major museums, galleries, alternative exhibition venues, and is at the center of one of the most vital public mural movements in the world. SFAI’s Anne Bremer Memorial Library is an important resource for painting students, and the libraries of many of the museums and universities in the Bay Area are also open to SFAI students for research.
The Painting Department has been at the forefront of significant developments in painting throughout its history. The idealism and energy of the faculty and students have fostered these achievements, which continue to resonate as important influences in contemporary painting; from the social realism of Diego Rivera, to the abstract expressionist works of Clyfford Still, to the expressionist figuration of David Park and Richard Diebenkorn. The California primitive funk movement had its inception at SFAI as well.
While the department eschews orthodoxy, it demands a thorough grounding and immersion in the history of painting. This philosophy is borne out by the fact that the department is one of the top-ranked programs in the country. It maintains a postmodern, pluralistic view of painting as a discipline, and encourages students to push the boundaries of the medium. Students engage with a multiplicity of painting techniques while developing unique studio practices that identify each student’s most pressing conceptual, technical, and aesthetic concerns. Studio critiques challenge students to address the cultural, personal, political, and conceptual positioning of their work, locating it within the broader discourse of contemporary art and life.
The highly accomplished and diverse faculty encourage experimentation within the medium as a strategy that embraces contradiction and authenticity. Contemporary painting continues to expand in relation to new technologies while maintaining the limitless physical properties of the medium.
Facilities
The Painting Department offers four large painting studios with natural light from the north-facing windows, color-balanced artificial light, balconies, aqua-based brush washing machines, ventilation, a work area for building supports, two drawing studios, a large rackroom for storage, and a critique/slide viewing room. There are also semi-private studios for selected seniors. All of the studios have 24-hour access. Exhibition spaces for paintings are located throughout the campus.
Other Resources
The Bay Area has major museums, galleries, alternative exhibition venues, and is at the center of one of the most vital public mural movements in the world. SFAI’s Anne Bremer Memorial Library is an important resource for painting students, and the libraries of many of the museums and universities in the Bay Area are also open to SFAI students for research.
© 2007 San Francisco Art Institute/general switchboard: 415.771.7020