Modernism Inc.

Modernism Inc. Founded in 1979, Modernism has since presented over 500 exhibitions of modern and contemporary art.

About MODERNISM

Founded in 1979, Modernism has since presented more than 450 exhibitions of modern and contemporary art, in media ranging from painting to photography, sculpture to performance and video art, by an international roster of artists. Throughout its 40 years, owner Martin Muller has striven to keep the gallery's challenging, museum quality program at the forefront of the art world. Ea

rly landmarks included being the first gallery to show Andy Warhol in the Bay Area (1982), and holding the first exhibition on the West Coast (in a gallery or museum) of the Russian Avant-Garde 1910-1930 (1980, 17 more retrospectives have since been mounted). In the 1990s Modernism highlighted its strong abstract program with the exhibition of "Four Abstract Classicists" (1993), a recreation of the show presented by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1959, while at the same time introducing America to the confrontational, and ofttimes disturbing, conceptual works of Austrian born artist Gottfried Helnwein (1992). This year Modernism will celebrate its 40th anniversary, and with it many more firsts of recent years, including the first major exhibition of the works of Le Corbusier on the West Coast(2003), and in 2006, the first major retrospective in the U.S. of the paintings, drawing, collages, and photographs of Erwin Blumenfeld. In addition to the milestones above, Modernism prides itself on the scope of its program:

Historical exhibitions encompass areas including Dada, Cubism, Surrealism, Vorticism, German Expressionism, and foremost, the Russian Avant-Garde 1910-1930. The contemporary program features rotating shows, six to seven weeks in duration, of the nearly 50 gallery artists—including various representational and abstract modes, sociopolitical, and conceptual works—presented at both Modernism and Modernism West, as well as at art fairs in the United States and Europe. Modernism publishes numerous books, monographs, catalogs, and fine art editions. Modernism is a member of the prestigious Art Dealers Association of America and the San Francisco Art Dealer's Association. Staff

Martin Muller, President

Danielle Beaulieu, Director

David Pen*ston, Registrar

Harlee Mollenkopf, Gallery Assistant

Lexi Paulson, Gallery Assistant

Allyson Beaulieu, Gallery Assistant

Naomie Kremer’s site specific work “Whorl” installed in the home of a collector in Paris. Painted on Phototex in Kremer’...
06/12/2026

Naomie Kremer’s site specific work “Whorl” installed in the home of a collector in Paris.

Painted on Phototex in Kremer’s Berkeley studio, the pieces were transported and cut upon her arrival. The composition, created on site, was developed in response to the architecture and art in the collector’s space.

We look forward to seeing more of these from Naomie Kremer!

A room without books is like a body without a soul.— CiceroArtwork: Joel BESMAR, “Descensus” (The Descent), 2013, oil on...
06/09/2026

A room without books is like a body without a soul.
— Cicero

Artwork: Joel BESMAR, “Descensus” (The Descent), 2013, oil on canvas

David Simpson has significantly furthered, if not fulfilled, Rothko’s mission…harnessing light as a medium for discoveri...
06/06/2026

David Simpson has significantly furthered, if not fulfilled, Rothko’s mission…harnessing light as a medium for discovering, revealing, and reveling in an immensity of color.
— Louis Grachos, “David Simpson: Works 1965-2015,” Radius Books, 2016

Artwork: David SIMPSON, “Yellow Tiger’s Eye,” 1967, acrylic on canvas

It is in the nature of images to slip between us and reality— Jean-Charles BlaisArtwork: Jean-Charles BLAIS, Untitled (b...
06/03/2026

It is in the nature of images to slip between us and reality
— Jean-Charles Blais

Artwork: Jean-Charles BLAIS, Untitled (blue head), 1996, oil on newspaper

Thank you to all who joined us for the opening of Ward Schumaker’s retrospective. We were delighted to see so many gathe...
05/29/2026

Thank you to all who joined us for the opening of Ward Schumaker’s retrospective. We were delighted to see so many gathered around work that remains as fresh and compelling as ever.

“Ward SCHUMAKER: Paintings 2007-2026” is on view now through June 27, 2026.

View the exhibition at the link on our bio.

ON VIEW NOW - “Michael BRENNAN: Left of Eden,” at Modernism West / Foreign Cinema through July 25, 2026 “Left of Eden” i...
05/27/2026

ON VIEW NOW - “Michael BRENNAN: Left of Eden,” at Modernism West / Foreign Cinema through July 25, 2026

“Left of Eden” is Brennan’s response to the present moment. He asserts, “I believe that within all of us lies a certain responsibility to stay conscious of the events of our time. These paintings are a reaction to those events; all with a dose of irreverence imbued with humor. The complexities of our collective humanity, thoughts stirred by our current political, cultural or social standing all play a role.”

View the exhibition and read more at the link in our bio.

Artwork: Michael BRENNAN, “Candle in the Wind,” 2025, oil on canvas

Moments from the “Michael BRENNAN: Left of Eden” opening reception.“Left of Eden” is view now through July 25 at Moderni...
05/22/2026

Moments from the “Michael BRENNAN: Left of Eden” opening reception.

“Left of Eden” is view now through July 25 at Modernism West / Foreign Cinema.

In his newest body of work, Michael Brennan continues to mine the vast terrain of art history while folding in the visual language of contemporary culture. His meticulous yet irreverent compositions blur distinctions between high and low, sacred and profane, canonical and comical. The work engages questions of gender, identity, and the shifting definitions of masculinity and femininity—concerns Brennan traces from contemporary culture back to their mythic origins in the Garden of Eden.

View the exhibition and read more at the link in our bio.

OPENING TONIGHT – “Ward SCHUMAKER: Paintings 2007-2026”Join us for the reception for the artist, tonight, Thursday, May ...
05/14/2026

OPENING TONIGHT – “Ward SCHUMAKER: Paintings 2007-2026”

Join us for the reception for the artist, tonight, Thursday, May 14, from 6-8pm at 724 Ellis Street in San Francisco.

The survey brings together important paintings from the past twenty years that demonstrate Schumaker’s sustained commitment to iterative explorations in mark making and the integration of gestural abstraction with language and numbers. The exhibition also includes a selection of original books hand-painted by the artist, providing further insight into Schumaker’s expansive practice.

View the exhibition at the link on our bio.

Within each of his paintings, Piet Mondrian sought to achieve a quality he called “dynamic equilibrium.” Through his arr...
05/14/2026

Within each of his paintings, Piet Mondrian sought to achieve a quality he called “dynamic equilibrium.” Through his arrangement of multiple panels, Heywood takes dynamic equilibrium beyond the confines of the picture plane to include the space occupied by the viewer. Ultimately the dynamic equilibrium is kinesthetic, experienced in the spectator’s own body.

Bookshelf Highlights: Books play an integral part of our daily life and work at Modernism. We are pleased to share with ...
05/14/2026

Bookshelf Highlights: Books play an integral part of our daily life and work at Modernism. We are pleased to share with you some of our treasured volumes.

Today we present “Dlia Golosa” (For the Voice), the landmark 1923 collaboration between Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky and Russian avant-garde artist El Lissitzky. Designed as a portable anthology of Mayakovsky’s poems intended for public recitation, the book is celebrated as one of the defining achievements of avant-garde graphic design and Constructivist publishing. Lissitzky conceived the volume as both a literary and visual object, integrating bold geometric typography, dynamic compositions, and an innovative system of thumb-index tabs that allowed readers to quickly locate individual poems. “Dlia Golosa” reflects the spirit of the early Soviet avant-garde and Lissitzky’s belief that design could function as powerful communicative force.

Address

724 Ellis Street
San Francisco, CA
94109

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 10am - 5:30pm
Thursday 10am - 5:30pm
Friday 10am - 5:30pm
Saturday 10am - 5:30pm

Telephone

+14155410461

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