Julie Mehretu: HOWL, eon (I, II)

Ethiopian-born artist Julie Mehretu presents a monumental two-part abstract work that dominates SFMOMA's light-filled atrium. This site-specific commission weaves together competing narratives of the American West—its breathtaking natural beauty alongside the destructive forces of colonialism and westward expansion. Built from layered digital imagery of contemporary protests and historical depictions of frontier settlement, the diptych is then densely painted and marked with gestural abstraction, creating a visual record of how violence, innovation, and resistance have continuously reshaped the Bay Area's landscape. Freely accessible to the public, the work invites viewers to contemplate how the region's complex past of social conflict and technological change continues to shape our present moment.