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Contemporary Gallery

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Frederick Eversley, Untitled (detail), 1975. Cast polyester resin. SBMA, Gift of the Estate of Robert K. Straus. Copyright: © Frederick Eversley.

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Kim Tschang-Yeul, Waterdrops No. L6, 1978. Oil on jute canvas. SBMA, Gift of Robert B. and Mercedes H. Eiccholz. © Estate of Kim Tschang-Yeul

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Dorothy Hood. Sea Elegy II (detail), 1972. Oil on canvas. SBMA, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Meredith J. Long. Copyright © Estate of Dorothy Hood.

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Anish Kapoor, Turning the World Inside Out, 1995. Cast stainless steel, ed. 3/3. SBMA, Museum purchase, 20th Century Art Acquisition Fund and funds provided by Eli and Leatrice Luria and the Luria Foundation, Lillian and Jon B. Lovelace, Smith Richardson and the Grace Jones Richardson Trust, and the SBMA Visionaries. Copyright © Anish Kapoor. All Rights Reserved, DACS, London/ ARS, NY 2021.

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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.