Exhibit- Barbara Stauffacher Solomon: Why? Why Not?

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon became famous almost overnight in 1966, when she painted giant letters, stripes, and arrows across the walls at The Sea Ranch. Yet her whole practice—as an artist, designer, writer, architect, and landscape theorist—has never been seen in full.

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon: Why? Why Not? brings a wide body of work together for the first time since her death. Trained in Swiss graphic design in Basel and later in architecture at Berkeley, Stauffacher Solomon produced prolifically for over 60 years: everything from books to Supergraphics, from landscape drawings to paintings of ping-pong tables, all relevant to the time in which she lived.

At the center of this exhibition is “Good Mourning California” (1992), her book about the state she loved and never quite believed: its landscapes, its broken promises, and the myths Americans have always told themselves about paradise. Drawing on rarely seen material from her estate’s archive and a new Supergraphic realized from her designs on YBCA’s walls, the exhibition takes visitors on a journey from Swiss grids to California freeways.

Exhibit Available During Regular Operating Hours:

Mon–Tues: Closed

Wed: 11 AM–8 PM

Thu–Sun: 11 AM–5 PM