SFMOMA rediscovers David Park
David Park had two great loves, “paint and people,” a fellow artist once said.
No wonder the Bay Area painter bucked the abstract expressionist trend in the early 1950s and made room for human figures on his canvases.
He led the way to what became known as Bay Area Figurative Art. But partly because he died at age 49, he’s not as well-known as colleagues like Elmer Bischoff and Richard Diebenkorn. San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art aims to correct that in an expansive retrospective, with scores of paintings and drawings on view through mid-January.
Like the rest of his style, Park’s people are abstract, created with loose brushstrokes and bold colors. In early works he sketches kids playing in the street and musicians in clubs. In later works and on larger canvases he groups
moody figures going swimming or rowing. A curator called one scene “a blend of mystery and serenity.”
Park was an art professor at UC Berkeley when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1960. His reaction: “I’m going to go home and paint.” His rush of late work is on display, including a street scene that fills a 30-foot roll of kitchen shelf paper.
At press time, SFMOMA remained open to the public, with limited capacity and COVID-19 safety precautions in effect. Advance ticket purchases are strongly suggested and masks are required; check the museum’s website for updates and more information before going.
Details: Through Jan. 18; museum hours are 1-8 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Monday; $19-$25, free for people 18 and younger; sfmoma.org.