San Antonio Museum of Art Acquires New Works From Texans, Women, And Artists of Color

San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) has announced new acquisitions from its summer and fall contemporary art exhibitions. Works from Christina Fernandez, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Jeffrey Gibson, Edgar Heap of Birds, Kirk Hayes, Earlie Hudnall Jr., Marcelyn McNeil, and Liz Trosper will enter the museum’s permanent collection.

SAMA enhances its collection of works by women, artists of color, and Texas-based artists with these acquisitions, which range in formal approach, media, and vision.

Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds’ Trail of Tears, and Jeffrey Gibson’s The Anthropophagic Effect, Garment no. 2 are the first two works by contemporary Native American artists to enter SAMA’s collection. Works by contemporary Latin American artists Jose Dávila, Sonia Gomes, Pedro Reyes, and Analia Saban entered SAMA’s collection in early 2020.

“The effort to grow and diversify SAMA’s contemporary art collection is strategically and thoughtfully led by Suzanne Weaver, the Museum’s Interim Chief Curator and The Brown Foundation Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, whose understanding of contemporary artistic practices and long-standing relationships in the art world continue to benefit the Museum exponentially,” says Emily Sano, SAMA’s Co-Interim Director.

 

States Liz Trosper in a text conversation with Glasstire: “I’m proud to be included in a collection with artists like Analia Saban and among such a history making list of artists.  SAMA is blazing a trail with its collection and I’m glad to be part of that.”

States Suzanne Weaver: “The ongoing expansion and enrichment of the Museum’s contemporary art collection reflects our deep commitment to bringing diversity, inclusivity, and new narratives to the contemporary art collection. We are thrilled to add, for the first time, extraordinary works by contemporary Native American artists as well as those representing and exploring the lives and experiences of Black and Latinx communities. The gifts of two artists who were included in the exhibition Texas Women: A New History of Art highlight the Museum’s commitment to Texas artists, the lifeblood of our communities.”

Fernandez’s Lavanderia #2, 2002­–2003 (printed 2020); Frazier’s video Flint is Family (2016); Cruelty’s Gate (2015), from Hayes; Hudnall Jr.’s Hip Hop, 1993 (printed 2017); Trosper’s toothy zip (neon:ochre), 2019; and McNeil’s Ramp Painting #2, 2018 were the works acquired from each artist.

“I also want to express my gratitude to Lana Meador, SAMA’s Assistant Curator, for her support and contributions in realizing these important acquisitions; to members of the Collections Committee; and to the artists, donors, and dealers for their generous support,” Weaver adds. “We look forward to developing fresh installations and programming to engage our audiences with these new acquisitions and to continuing to build our contemporary art collection in diverse, meaningful, and lasting ways.”

For more on the San Antonio Museum of Art, please go here.