East West Bank Art Terrace Opening

Join us for the opening of the museum’s newest gallery space: the East West Bank Art Terrace, a unique outdoor venue for contemporary art. Our 7,500 sq. ft. rooftop terrace is a destination for connecting with friends, dining al fresco, or simply enjoying a contemplative moment while surrounded by large-scale sculptures and commissioned installations.

On Oct. 2 at 5 p.m., join us on the East West Bank Art Terrace as you explore some of our biggest works of art yet. The Art Terrace’s first exhibition features three contemporary artists who represent a geographically diverse range of Asian heritages and whose eclectic, compelling works possess some surprising California connections.  

• 
  Kongkee - Taotie

  Forged by one of the last neon studios in the Bay Area, Taotie (2022) by Kongkee (b. 1977, active Vancouver) is an eye-catching sculpture in pink neon inspired by ancient Chinese works in the museum collection.  

• 
  Pinaree Sanpitak - Breast Stupa Topiary

  Pinaree Sanpitak’s (b. 1961) elegantly minimalistic Breast Stupa Topiary (2013/2019) offers a feminist reimagining of Buddhist commemorative monuments that suggests the Thai concept of rang-gai — seeing the body as a site where the physical and spiritual intersect.  

• 
  Ala Ebtekar - Luminous Ground

  Commissioned for the Art Terrace, Luminous Ground (2018/2020) by Berkeley-born Ala Ebtekar (b. 1978, active San Francisco and Tehran) features 1,800 ceramic tiles — made of clay from California’s Central Valley by a Fresno-based, Japanese American family — spangled with sunlight-exposed cyanotype images of galaxies from the Hubble telescope, reminiscent of celestial blue Persian ceramic glazes in our collection.  

The East West Bank Art Terrace and Murakami: Monsterized will stay open until 7 pm (Cha May Ching Museum Boutique closes at 6:30).