Administered by SECA (Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art), an SFMOMA art interest group, this biennial award honors local artists of exceptional promise with an exhibition at the museum. This year's four recipients employ a wide spectrum of artistic approaches, including painting, sculpture, photography, and video. Whether Tauba Auerbach is making images of TV static, digital binary code, or alphabets, she probes the dynamics of symbolic representation. Referencing 1980s sitcoms, Desirée Holman uses sculpture, performance, and video to look at the human condition via both reality and fantasy. Jordan Kantor's paintings explore the cultural mediation of images and artistic appropriation. Trevor Paglen's photographs examine the shadowy side of the U.S. government, capturing images of spy satellites, clandestine flight missions, and secret military operations.
