SDMA opens new, permanent-collection gallery, redesigned to make art accessible

By Anthony King | SDUN Editor

In the process of launching their latest exhibit, “Art of East Asia,” the San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA) unveiled a completely renovated gallery touted as one of the most sophisticated exhibition spaces in San Diego.

At a special preview before the gallery’s official opening, Executive Director Roxana Velásquez joined Asian art curator Sonya Quintanilla and representatives from Staples & Charles, the museum and exhibition design firm that was hired for the project, for a ribbon cutting and tour of the new space.

“This collection is a collection that grew up very organically,” said Quintanilla, who helped start the redesign and exhibit eight years ago. In 2012, she moved from her SDMA position to take a position as Cleveland Museum of Art’s Indian and Southeast Asian art curator, in Ohio.

“Over the last 85 years, we have a collection of Asian art that amounts to about 45 percent … of the museum’s entire holdings,” she said. “It’s a … collection I was hoping would become more accessible and more human.”

Quintanilla said she wanted to take the best pieces from the permanent collection and place them in “authentic contexts” to “give a textured experience as you go through the space, and have it be a pleasure to come and spend time in these various environments.”

In addition to numerous pieces of art in SDMA’s permanent collection that were taken into consideration for the exhibit – the final exhibit houses over 280 objects with more than 100 of them never before on display – Quintanilla worked closely with Staples & Charles on the design and layout of the new galleries, using each element to create the “authentic contexts.”

The renovation cost neared $1 million, and was funded in part by San Diego County and City grants, The Leeds Funds and a National Endowment for the Arts grant, Velásquez said. SDMA is located at 1450 El Prado in Balboa Park.

Barbara Charles of Staples & Charles spoke during the tour, giving insights into different design elements in the new space, including color and ceiling height – lowered from the last, two-room space many dubbed the “Asian Court” – as well as mounts, podiums and cases.

“We’ve taken two galleries and split them into five. These are really like chapters of books,” she said.

The Art of East Asia galleries are grouped by geographic region as much as philosophy, theme and time period. The first room, “Tombs: Art for the Dead in Ancient China,” includes pieces that date from 3,000 BCE to the eighth century. From here, the exhibit moves into the second room, highlighting Buddhist tradition and influence in art in both China and Japan.

Visitors then move into a longer hallway, where artifacts from Korea are displayed, providing several firsts for SDMA.

“We’ve never in this museum before had the chance to feature the art of Korea in its own single section,” Quintanilla said, calling the area a “microcosm” of the East. The placement allows visitors to see subtle differences in art between the three nations, she said, including Korean and Chinese celadon, a type of ceramic.

“We [also] have the only permanent installation dedicated to Korean domestic arts on the West Coast,” Quintanilla said. The installation, which was a major gift from a local collector, includes objects from traditional Korean kitchens, as well as carpentry tools and a wedding chest.

Quintanilla said her experience in gallery research and observations in how people interact with art influenced the overall design of the new gallery. One aspect, which Charles called the “single biggest challenge,” were seating areas.

“People love to sit in Asian galleries,” Quintanilla said. “There’s a contemplative and peaceful quality in them. I wanted to provide a comfortable place where people [could] come and sit as long as they would like.”

Corner seating booths in the fourth room, which Charles said had to be designed for modern requirements and needs, are considered completely new. Quintanilla said there was no model for the work Staples & Charles put into the design.

“I noticed how little people actually look at the objects,” she said. “If I could integrate casework with little objects in them, where people like to sit anyway, and give them something to look at, then perhaps the objects would actually be seen.”

Another aspect that came to Quintanilla and Charles during the design was providing forgeries, or fakes, of the authentic art that visitors could feel and see up-close. These pieces are placed next to the authentic pieces housed within museum cases.

“We thought it would be the perfect thing for people to be able to touch,” Quintanilla said of the forgeries. “They feel and look quite like the objects that we find behind the glass.”

Velásquez was particularly excited about the hands-on aspect of the exhibit, which also includes an interactive station for learning calligraphy and upcoming virtual tours on portable devices. She said the education department worked together with the curators throughout the entire process.

“We work hard because we are devoted to our audiences. We know that … we need to be accessible to everybody,” Velásquez said. “We want to be close to our community.”

Near the end of the tour, Charles reiterated the purpose of the redesign, saying the focus was always about the art.

“Ideally, these architectural details we put throughout kind of give you some spirit of the space, of the place the objects are coming from [and] the environment they would have been in,” Charles said. “But in the end, the goal is that you’re really looking at the objects.”

SDMA opened the gallery to visitors Saturday, Feb. 9. For more information, including gallery hours, special events and additional tours, visit sdmart.org or call 619-232-7931.