/Museums
Gillian Laub: Family Matters
Nov 07, 2022 - Apr 09, 2023
Thurs - Sun 11am to 5pm. Closed Sun-Wed
415-655-7800
Event WebsiteAbout
For the last two decades, American photographer Gillian Laub has used the camera to investigate how society’s most complex questions are often writ large in our most intimate relationships. Throughout her career she has been simultaneously, and privately, documenting the emotional, psychological, and political landscape of her own family—exploring her growing discomfort with the many extravagances that marked their lives. Intense intergenerational bonds have shaped and nurtured Laub, but have also been fraught. Balancing empathy with critical perspective, humor with horror, the closeness of family with the distance of the artist, Laub offers a picture of an American family saga that feels both anguished and hopeful.
SF/Arts Curator Insight
Open now through April 9, Gillian Laub: Family Matters offers a vulnerable inquiry of the artist into her family’s personal and political life. The photo series documents her own family over the decades, illuminating the contradictions and conundrums which family life brings. The photographs expose while empathizing, and therefore offering, a precious viewing opportunity at the Contemporary Jewish Museum.
Luke Williams
Contributing Writer
The CJM makes the diversity of the Jewish experience relevant for a twenty-first century audience. We accomplish this through innovative exhibitions and programs that educate, challenge, and inspire.
The CJM makes the diversity of the Jewish experience relevant for a twenty-first century audience. We accomplish this through innovative exhibitions and programs that educate, challenge, and inspire.