Kiki Smith American, b. 1954

Berggruen Gallery is proud to present Works in Black & White, a group exhibition that delves into the world of black and white as the primary, and often sole, colors. This curated collection explores the nuances of these two fundamental tones, reflecting on the various ways artists employ simplicity and complexity within this timeless palette. From bold abstractions to intricate minimalism, the exhibition reveals the artists' diverse abilities to convey emotion and provoke contemplation within the grayscale spectrum.

Works in Black & White will be on display from September 14 — October 13, 2023, featured on the top level of Berggruen Gallery.

Exhibiting Artists:

Robert Bechtle | Richard Diebenkorn | Lucian Freud | Michael Gregory | Philip Guston | Mona Hatoum | Al Held | Sarah Hotchkiss | William Kentridge | Anselm Kiefer | Matt Kleberg | Des Lawrence | Julian Lethbridge | Brice Marden | Sam Messenger | Martin Puryear | Linda Ridgway | Iran Do Espírito Santo | Richard Serra | Joel Shapiro | Kiki Smith | Jonas Wood

Berggruen Gallery is proud to announce Serial Imagery: Portfolios & Prints in Sets, an exhibition of etchings and intaglios, pochoirs, lithographs, screenprints, and woodblock prints. Serial Imagery: Portfolios & Prints in Sets will be on view from June 15 through July 22, 2023. The gallery will host an opening reception on Thursday, June 15, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.

Throughout history, artists have created work in series, producing collections of images, repetitive forms, and cohesive graphic languages. In the last century, the practice of creating serial prints witnessed an extraordinary surge as visionaries from the conceptual and pop art movements embraced the sequential format, propelling it to newfound prominence and cultural relevancy. This exhibition will explore the compelling methodologies in which artists employ printmaking techniques to communicate unconventional concepts and push the boundaries of their chosen medium. Whether it involves utilizing multiple prints to convey a progressive narrative or extending the subject across multiple sheets, this presentation delves into the possibilities of sequential printmaking.

The artworks showcased in Serial Imagery: Portfolios & Prints in Sets were created with a diverse range of techniques and hybrid processes, including pochoir, etching and intaglio, lithography, screenprinting, and woodcut. The exhibition is grounded by the complete sets of Henri Matisse’s groundbreaking Jazz from 1947, a portfolio of twenty colorful pochoirs from the artist’s cut-out series, and Wayne Thiebaud’s canonical Delights from 1964, a suite of seventeen intimate etchings of confections and foods. Serial Imagery presents an array of contemporary approaches to serial production, demonstrating how seminal artists engaged and experimented with the tradition of printmaking. It includes works by:

Nina Chanel Abney
Brice Marden
Odili Donald Odita
Polly Apfelbaum
Henri Matisse
Kiki Smith
John Baldessari
Julie Mehretu
Wayne Thiebaud
Charles Gaines
Robert Motherwell
Ellsworth Kelly
Terry Winters

Artist Nina Chanel Abney's CREW displays sentimental portraits of friends and fellow creatives, employing bold shapes and vibrant hues to create iconic images that celebrate the significance of collective support. In Heart and Soul, a portfolio of nine woodblock prints, Polly Apfelbaum ventures beyond her customary use of primary and secondary colors, delving into freshly imagined color combinations to create modernist heart-shaped design patterns. In Eight Soups, John Baldessari utilizes serial repetition to play with the iconic imagery of Henri Matisse’s 1912 painting, Goldfish and Sculpture, together with a nod to Andy Warhol’s ubiquitous soup can series, creating a vibrant series of eight screenprints. Serial Imagery presents a diverse range of contemporary approaches to serial print production. Whether the focus is experimenting with shifting chromatic pairings, expanding upon a conceptual narrative, or subverting historical iconography, these portfolio and print sets denote an interest in transcending disciplinary boundaries imposed by the notion of singularity.

Additionally, the exhibition celebrates the important contribution of fine printing presses and publishers in the process of creating and distributing serial prints. Each of these presses played a critical role in the serialization of the artist’s vision, from planning to execution. Prints in the exhibition were created at Crown Point Press, San Francisco; Durham Press, Durham, PA; Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles; Paulson Fontaine Press, Berkeley; and Tériade, Paris; among others.

Serial Imagery: Portfolios & Prints in Sets, June 15 – July 22, 2023. On view at 10 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. Images and preview are available upon request. For all inquiries, please contact the gallery by phone at (415) 781-4629 or by email at info@berggruen.com.

I am honored to present this exhibition, Her Voice, in honor of my late wife, Gretchen Berggruen. Co-owner of Berggruen Gallery, Gretchen was the heart and soul of the gallery. This group show features more than thirty artists, all of whom Gretchen championed, worked closely alongside, and deeply admired. This exhibition reflects Gretchen’s vision and her great passion in life. Those who had the pleasure to have known her know the deep level of care and attention with which she always acted. Her expertise, drive, kindness, patience, and perseverance drove the gallery to be what it is today. Gretchen was my partner and our leader, and I am proud to present Her Voice, celebrating her life and all that she built. – John Berggruen

Featuring artworks by the following artists:

Diana Al-Hadid | John Alexander | Jennifer Bartlett | Cecily Brown | Christopher Brown | Squeak Carnwath | Bruce Cohen | Roseline Delisle | Mark di Suvero | Richard Diebenkorn | Austin Eddy | Helen Frankenthaler | Jane Hammond | Stephen Hannock | Shara Hughes | William Kentridge | Clare Kirkconnell | Julian Lethbridge | Alicia McCarthy | Tom McKinley | Julie Mehretu | Elizabeth Murray | Tom Otterness | Martin Puryear | Linda Ridgway | Joel Shapiro | Judith Shea | Kiki Smith | Mark Tansey | Wayne Thiebaud | Fiona Waterstreet

We are pleased to present Contemporary Women Artists, an exhibition of paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by eight of the most exciting female artists creating work today, including Tauba Auerbach, Carmen Herrera, Clare Kirkconnell, Suzanne McClelland, Julie Mehretu, Beatriz Milhazes, Linda Ridgway, and Kiki Smith. This show will be on view through October 9, 2020.

Contemporary Women Artists presents a compelling selection of works by women artists who have each pioneered facets of the contemporary art canon. While Milhazes fuses cultural elements from her native Brazil with influence from European Modernist painters, Mehretu completely reenergizes and renews 21st century Abstraction. Altogether, the works composing Contemporary Women Artists are intricate yet bold; delicate yet powerful.

Spanning an intriguing breadth of subject matter, Contemporary Women Artists showcases works that both allude to and subvert mainstream ideas of femininity. Kirkconnell, Ridgway, and Smith consider the natural world in their alluring renderings while Auerbach and Herrera compose works of rigid geometries. When viewed altogether, power between delicacy and boldness is shared. The viewer can appreciate how strength radiates from seemingly fragile, natural forms while a certain subtlety can be found in the linear components of abstract works.

Contemporary Women Artists, September 3 – October 9, 2020. On view at 10 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. Images and preview are available upon request. For all inquiries, please contact the gallery by phone (415) 781-4629 or by email info@berggruen.com.

Berggruen Gallery is pleased to present Major Contemporary Works, an exhibition of paintings, drawings, and sculptures by important contemporary artists. This show will be on view May 16 - July 6, 2019.

Tauba Auerbach | Cecily Brown | Christo | Tony Cragg | Sarah Crowner | John Currin | Mark di Suvero
Spencer Finch | Günther Förg | Danny Fox | Michelle Grabner | Shara Hughes | William Kentridge
Alicia McCarthy | Beatriz Milhazes | Sarah Morris | Odili Donald Odita | Tom Otterness
Martin Puryear | Joel Shapiro | Jenny Sharaf | Kiki Smith | Lucy Williams


Major Contemporary Works, May 16 - July 6, 2019. On view at 10 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. Images and preview are available upon request. For all inquiries, please contact the gallery by phone (415) 781-4629 or by email info@berggruen.com.

Berggruen Gallery is pleased to present The Human Form, a sweeping exploration of the human figure from the early 20th century to today. It will be the inaugural exhibition in its new space at 10 Hawthorne Street, across from the recently expanded San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Bringing together over 60 works by 20th century masters such as Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Lucian Freud, Alberto Giacometti, Edward Hopper, Willem de Kooning, Gerhard Richter, Richard Diebenkorn, and Wayne Thiebaud, as well as leading contemporary artists George Condo, Cecily Brown, Joel Shapiro, Antony Gormley, Kiki Smith and Kehinde Wiley, The Human Form will look at the formal and conceptual ways that artists have approached the representation of the figure. As Dr. Steven A. Nash writes, “The human body has been a lightning rod for creative imagination since humankind’s earliest impulses toward graphic representation. As the most common attribute of our shared humanity, it provides a powerful channel for empathetic communication of ideas, emotions, ideals, and beliefs. Throughout the history of image-making, the body has inspired countless varieties of interpretation, but it is safe to say that no other period of art history has seen the inventive, radical, and expressive explorations of this human vessel that characterize the modern era starting in the early 20th-century.”

The exhibition is the first in the gallery’s new space, and reflects the Berggruen’s interest in putting into conversation works of historical significance with contemporary pieces that grapple with the most pressing issues of our time. The gallery has a long history of exploring figuration through its exhibitions, and this show provides an in-depth look at the significant role the figure has played for artists over time, and the way it has been adapted throughout the narrative of 20th and 21st century art. The exhibition will be accompanied by an illustrated catalogue with an introductory essay by Dr. Steven A. Nash, Founding Director of the Nasher Sculpture Center, Chief Curator at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and most recently, Director of the Palm Springs Art Museum.

Full Artist List

Milton Avery Lucian Freud Elizabeth Peyton
David Bates Alberto Giacometti Francis Picabia
Max Beckmann Antony Gormley Pablo Picasso
Michaël Borremans Edward Hopper Martin Puryear
Cecily Brown Chris Johanson Gerhard Richter
Christopher Brown Alex Katz Tom Sachs
Nick Cave Yves Klein Jenny Saville
Chuck Close Roy Lichtenstein Joel Shapiro
George Condo Henri Matisse Kiki Smith
James Crosby Barry McGee Wayne Thiebaud
Willem de Kooning Henry Moore Adriana Varejão
Richard Diebenkorn Nathan Oliveira Kara Walker
Peter Doig David Park Kehinde Wiley

The Human Form, January 13 – March 4, 2017. On view at 10 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. Images and preview are available upon request. For further information, please contact the gallery by phone
(415) 781.4629 or by email info@berggruen.com. Gallery hours: Monday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

John Berggruen Gallery is pleased to present the exhibition of new sculpture and drawings by New York-based artist, Kiki Smith. The reception for the artist will be on Thursday, November 17th from 5:30-7:30pm.

This is Smith's second exhibition at John Berggruen Gallery, the previous one being in 2000. For the current installation, she has made two life-size bronze sculptures of female figures: one standing, guarding a flowering bush behind her; the other reclining with bent knees, posing on a bed of earth. Also on exhibit, are bronze laser-cut drawings including Sleeping in a Thicket, collaged drawings of female faces on Nepal paper, and Untitled (Flower Drawings) depicting mulberries and keys made with her own blood, referencing the classic fairly tale- Bluebeard. Principal themes in Smith's oeuvre explore life, death, resurrection, and rebirth.

Born in Nuremburg, Germany in 1954, Kiki Smith began her artistic career by participating in COLAB (Collaborative Projects), a New York-based cooperative that consisted of over forty artists in the mid-Seventies. Smith's early career included solo exhibitions at the Dallas Museum of Art (1989), the MAK Galerie (Vienna, 1991), the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (Humlebaek, Denmark) and the Fawbush Gallery, New York.

A traveling retrospective, organized by the Walker Art Center, of Smith's work- Kiki Smith: A Gathering, 1980-2005, is at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art at the same time as the current exhibition at the John Berggruen Gallery. Other recent solo exhibitions have included: Convergence at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; Directions – Kiki Smith: Night at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.; and Invention/Intervention: Kiki Smith and the Museums at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh. Kiki Smith's work can be found in over thirty-five national and international public collections.