Category Archives: Architecture

San Francisco Social Diary: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art “Art Bash” Party

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The dramatically expanded San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, presently the biggest modern and contemporary art museum in the U.S., opens to the public this month.

The dramatically expanded San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, presently the biggest modern and contemporary art museum in the U.S., opens to the public this month.

GUESTS AT SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART GALA ENJOYED A SNEAK PREVIEW OF THE OPENING SHOW

After a three-year transformation, when the San Francisco Museum of Art (SFMOMA) reopens on May 14, it will be the country’s largest modern and contemporary art museum. Of a series of pre-opening celebrations, the biggest by far was the Art Bash on April 29, 2016, which attracted more than 2,600 art lovers.

Attendees got a first look at the 1,900 objects from the museum’s massive collection. On display in nineteen distinctive shows, they include 270 works from the Doris and Donald Fisher Collection and 600 of the 3,000 works donated by patrons to the permanent collection during the Campaign for Art.

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Shanghai Social Diary: Shanghai’s Vintage & Modern Architecture

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In the vibrant metropolis of Shanghai, modern skyscrapers fill the skyline, but in the Xintiandi district, you can still discover architectural gems of the city’s storied past transformed into a popular entertainment hub.

LITERARY LUNCH: SHANGHAI’S VINTAGE & MODERN ARCHITECTURE

One afternoon in Shanghai, I wandered over to the famed restaurant M on the Bund for a “Literary Lunch,” where American architect Ben Wood and Shanghainese author Andrea Mingfai Chu spoke about Shanghai’s architectural heritage.

In Shanghai, author Andrea Mingfai Chu and architect Ben Wood presented a talk at M on the Bund, where Australian owner Michelle Garnaut launched Literary Lunches.

M on the Bund is one of the architectural gems in the city, housed in the historic Nissin Shipping Building built in 1921 (center).

One of the first restaurants to open on the historic Bund in 1999, M provides a stunning view of Shanghai’s most famous sights along the riverside promenade.

One of the first restaurants to open on the historic Bund in 1999, M provides a stunning view of Shanghai’s most famous sights along the riverside promenade.

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Shanghai Social Diary: Hiking in the Chinese Countryside

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Living in a city the size of Shanghai, with over 20 million inhabitants, requires an occasional escape. One weekend, my hiking group took a trip to Tai Hu Lake for some peace, quiet, and fresh air in the countryside.

HIKING IN THE CHINESE COUNTRYSIDE

Early one autumn Saturday, venture capitalist Jennifer Yan, publisher Andrea Mingfai Chu, and I went on a day trip to the countryside with our hiking group. Our destination was Tai Hu Lake, west of Shanghai, to visit an authentic farming and fishing village.

Tai Hu Lake is third largest freshwater lake in China, has 90 islands, and empties into the Yangtze River.

China is the world’s leading source of wild-caught fish and aquaculture, and Tai Hu Lake is a source for several fish species, including the seasonal delicacy, hairy crab.

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San Francisco Social Diary: Manetti Shrem Museum to Open in 2016-17

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The future Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at UC Davis will provide a cutting-edge arts and education facility for the university and the entire region.

MANETTI SHREM MUSEUM OF ART AT UC DAVIS TO OPEN IN 2016-17

Recently, I celebrated another construction milestone for the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, the new museum at the University of California, Davis set to open next year. The museum’s “topping out” ceremony commemorated the final beam being put in place.

The university’s new facility is a state-of-the-art museum with a profound commitment to education. Students and other visitors will experience art in an intimate setting that provides exciting new resources to explore and celebrate UC Davis’s rich artistic legacy. With its art studio and art history programs and exhibitions, the museum will play an important role expanding art access to all students.

Located 15 miles west of Sacramento, UC Davis is one of the nation’s top 10 public research universities, and is currently ranked first in its veterinarian and agricultural programs, the latter of which includes top programs in viticulture (study of grape cultivation) and enology (study of wines).

A rendering of the future UC Davis Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, which will open in 2016–17.

The museum features a 125-seat lecture hall, a classroom for seminars with direct access to the Fine Arts Collection, and most prominently an indoor-outdoor wet studio for hands-on art making.

The “Grand Canopy” is a 50,000-square-foot permeable cover that floats over a series of interconnected indoor and outdoor spaces.

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Shanghai Social Diary: Treasures of China’s Heritage Part 4

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On a nine-day trip to China with the GHF (Global Heritage Fund), I explored some truly incredible, off-the-beaten-path historical sites, including three days at my favorite stop, the stunning ancient walled city of Pingyao.

Treasures of China’s Heritage: Touring with the Global Heritage Fund
(Fourth of a Seven-part Series)

Fujian and Shanxi

I recently had the privilege of taking a nine-day trip to China in the company of board members of the Palo Alto-based Global Heritage Fund (GHF)—an organization devoted to supporting underdeveloped rural areas worldwide. Although I’d previously traveled extensively in China, this unusual excursion was uniquely enriching and memorable. It’s my pleasure to share this experience with you in a series of recollections illustrated primarily by my personal photographs. Links to the other installments in this series can be found at the end of this article.

After resting up from our first magical day in historic Pingyao, we looked forward to more experiences in the ancient walled city, including an up-close encounter with the walls themselves.

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Shanghai Social Diary: Treasures of China’s Heritage Part 3

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On a nine-day trip to China with the GHF (Global Heritage Fund), I explored some truly incredible, off-the-beaten-path historical sites, including my favorite stop, the ancient walled city of Pingyao.

Treasures of China’s Heritage: Touring with the Global Heritage Fund
(Third in a Seven-part series)

Fujian and Shanxi

I recently had the privilege of taking a nine-day trip to China in the company of board members of the Palo Alto-based Global Heritage Fund (GHF)—an organization devoted to supporting underdeveloped rural areas worldwide. Although I’d previously traveled extensively in China, this unusual excursion was uniquely enriching and memorable. It’s my pleasure to share this experience with you in a series of recollections illustrated primarily by my personal photographs. Links to the other installments in this series can be found at the end of this article.

After exploring the port town of Zhangzhou and touring ancient earthen residences called “tulous” in southeast China, we next travelled north to the ancient walled city of Pingyao.

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Shanghai Social Diary: Treasures of China’s Heritage Part 2

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On a trip to China with the Global Heritage Fund, we explored some truly incredible, off-the-beaten-path historical sites, such as Tian Luo Keng, a cluster of round, earthen tulou residences.

Treasures of China’s Heritage: Touring with the Global Heritage Fund
(Second of a Seven-part Series)

Nanjing and Pinghe Counties, Fujian

I recently had the privilege of taking a nine-day trip to China in the company of board members of the Global Heritage Fund (GHF)—an organization devoted to supporting underdeveloped rural areas worldwide. Although I’d previously traveled extensively in China, this unusual excursion was uniquely enriching and memorable. It’s my pleasure to share this experience with you in a series of recollections illustrated primarily by my personal photographs. Links to the other installments in this series can be found at the end of this article.

DAY 2: ARRIVAL IN ZHANGZHOU CITY

After landing in Fujian’s modern city of Xiamen and exploring earthen tulou buildings in the countryside on our first day, we proceeded to the historic port town of Zhangzhou and then to Pinghe and Nanjing counties, where we visited tulous of a different style.

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Shanghai Social Diary: Treasures of China’s Heritage, Part 1

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On a nine-day trip to China with the Global Heritage Fund, I explored some truly incredible, off-the-beaten-path historical sites, among them the Xuankongsi Hanging Temple that clings to the side of a mountain in northeast China.

Treasures of China’s Heritage: Touring with the Global Heritage Fund
(First of a Seven-part Series)

For many, a trip to China is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, usually limited to the must-see places such as Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, and the other major cities. But if you have the opportunity to make return visits to this vast and varied country, I highly recommend stepping off the tourist trail and venturing into the provinces.

I first visited China in 1987 and quickly fell in love with its intoxicating beauty, rich culture, and welcoming people. I immediately vowed to return—and not simply as a tourist. Since 2008, I’ve lived in China off and on and have seen many places that are still largely undeveloped and therefore undiscovered by outsiders.

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San Francisco Social Diary: Spring in the City

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The Asian Art Museum (AAM) of San Francisco presented the exhibition China’s Terra Cotta Warriors, one of the greatest archaeological finds of our time.

TERRA COTTA WARRIORS AT ASIAN ART MUSEUM

Through the end of May, the Asian Art Museum (AAM) of San Francisco is exhibiting terra cotta warrior statues from the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang (259-206 BCE), who unified the country in 221 BCE.

The exhibit explores the emperor’s reign and influence. Qin leaders, much like the Egyptian Pharaohs, were buried with their wealth so they could carry it into the afterlife.

Discovered in 1974 in Xi’an in northern China by farmers digging a well, Emperor Qin’s riches-filled tomb is guarded by more than 7,000 life-size terra cotta warriors, horses, chariots, and more than 10,000 weapons, with more excavation continuing today.

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San Francisco Social Diary: A Magical Weekend at Hearst Castle Gala

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Hearst Castle

SAN SIMEON, CALIFORNIA—On a balmy night in October 2012, a group of bold names were gathered at Hearst Castle in San Simeon, sipping Champagne and enjoying the sunset view over ranchland and the Pacific Ocean.

Just such a scene played out many times during the ’30s and ’40s, when the mansion’s one-time owner, media magnate William Randolph Hearst, was in his heyday.

But for this recent occasion, the fourth annual Hearst Castle Preservation Foundation Benefit Weekend, the Hearst family member greeting the crowd was Anne Hearst McInerney, who, along with her husband, novelist Jay McInerney, chaired the event.

Anne is one of W.R. Hearst’s grandchildren. He had five sons, ten grandchildren, and now there are scores of great- and great-great-grandchildren.

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