In 1976, Asawa attended a solo exhibition at the San Francisco Arts Commission Capricorn Asder Gallery in California. (Photo: Bruce Sherman, artwork © 2026 Ruth Aswa Lanier, Inc. Courtesy of David Zwirner)
It’s already been a big year for the late artist Ruth Asawa. After huge successes at both New York’s MoMA and the Bay Area’s SFMOMA, her groundbreaking retrospective arrived at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in March. But the momentum is far from over. On May 9, 2026, family-owned Ruth Asawa Lanier Inc. (RAL Inc.) will open its first permanent venue dedicated to the pioneering modernist, commemorating the 100th anniversary of her birth in 1926.
The 1,714-square-foot gallery is located in the Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood. The launch of the space is Ruth Asawa: UntitledThe exhibition was co-curated by the artist’s daughter, Aiko Cuneo, and Adi Lanier, and its title cleverly references Asawa’s habit of not naming his works. Like her retrospective, Untitled It provides an overview of the artist’s interdisciplinary work, covering everything from rarely exhibited loop and tie wire sculptures to cast artwork, origami, watercolors and drawings. Future exhibitions will similarly celebrate Asazawa’s lesser-known and unpublished works, along with those of her friends and mentors, including Josef and Anni Albers, Imogen Cunningham, Ray Johnson, and others.
In addition to its unprecedented exhibition program, this space is also significant due to its specific location. Asawa spent more than 60 years in San Francisco, developing close ties to the city’s art world. In fact, the artist boasts several permanent installations throughout the Bay Area. andrea At Ghirardelli Square, san francisco fountain Just to name a few, the wire sculptures in the tower of the de Young Museum near Union Square. This new gallery aims to exemplify the artist’s undeniable influence on the local stage and beyond, highlighting how she interacted with her surroundings and, in turn, how her surroundings influenced her own practice.
“San Francisco was Asawa’s home for more than 60 years, during which time she developed a unique artistic language, raised a family, and became a leading advocate for the arts and arts education locally and nationally,” said Henry Wewerka, the artist’s grandson and president of RAL Inc. san francisco chronicle. “Opening a permanent space here as her second home seems like a great way to celebrate her centenary for years to come.”
Asawa, who died in 2013 at the age of 87, is best known for his loop wire sculptures, many of which incorporate organic, naturalistic motifs. She first developed her unique technique for looping wire while attending Black Mountain College near Asheville, North Carolina, after World War II. In 2024, she was posthumously awarded the National Medal of Arts by former President Joe Biden. Her ongoing retrospective exhibition will be on view at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao until September 13, 2026, before traveling to the Beyeler Foundation in Switzerland.
“Through over 50 tours, Retrospective exhibition “The question I get asked most often at SFMOMA is, ‘What was it like growing up with Ruth Asawa as your grandmother?’ Through the intimate exhibits in our new Minnesota Street Project space, I hope visitors can get a sense of who she was as an artist, mother, grandmother, and arts advocate,” added Wewerka.
Visit Ruth Asawa’s website to stay up to date on the new space and upcoming exhibitions.
Ruth Asawa’s family-run foundation will open its first permanent venue dedicated to the late artist, best known for her loop wire sculptures.
Asawa, c., in his living room in Noe Valley, San Francisco, California. 1995. (Artwork © 2026 Ruth Aswa Lanier, Inc., provided by David Zwirner)
Located in San Francisco’s Dogpatch District, the gallery will debut with an exhibition on May 9, 2026, offering visitors an up-close glimpse into Asawa’s legendary practices.
Asawa sitting on the deck of his Nohe Valley home with cast bronze and electroplated sculptures, San Francisco, California, c. 1969. (Photo: Xavier Lanier, artwork © 2026 Ruth Aswa Lanier, Inc. Courtesy of David Zwirner)
Exhibition information:
Ruth Asawa
Ruth Asawa: Untitled
May 9, 2026 – June 20, 2026
minnesota street project
1275 Minnesota Street, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA
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