Contemporary Gallery
The Santa Barbara Museum of Art has always exhibited and collected challenging and perplexing contemporary art. Until now, no gallery was dedicated solely to the art of our time. Centered on a massive, mirrored sphere by Anish Kapoor, this inaugural installation has two themes. One focuses on the reflection, representation, and distortion of light. The other includes artworks that at first glance seem like elegant exercises in design, color, or wit but, in fact, are meant to unsettle and upend assumptions about American culture.