SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is proud to present the 2004 SECA Art Award and exhibition. On view from January 22 through May 15, 2005, the exhibition features work by Bay Area artists Rosana Castrillo Diaz, Simon Evans, Shaun O’Dell, and Josephine Taylor. Administered by the Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art (SECA), one of the Museum’s seven auxiliaries, the biennial award honors local artists of exceptional promise with an exhibition at SFMOMA, an accompanying catalogue, and a modest cash prize.

The SECA Art Award distinguishes artists working independently at a high level of artistic maturity and whose work has not yet received substantial recognition. This year, jurists considered nearly two hundred artists, working in a broad range of media, nominated by Bay Area art professionals, including museum and alternative-space curators, art school instructors, gallerists, critics, SECA members, and former recipients of the SECA award. The winners were selected by Janet Bishop, SFMOMA curator of painting and sculpture and Tara McDowell, SFMOMA curatorial associate, in dialogue SECA members.

Of this year’s award process, Bishop states, “As we reviewed our findings at the conclusion of the studio visits, we were struck by the strength of drawing, in particular, among artists currently working in the Bay Area—a situation that parallels contemporary art production in general right now. All four of these artists work in drawing as a primary medium, using ephemeral materials with great sensitivity to capture something of the complex and tenuous nature of contemporary experience, whether personal or collective.”

Rosana Castrillo Diaz’s 30-foot “drawing” made entirely of loops of cellophane tape spans the gallery wall like a delicate veil. Simon Evans looks at the idiosyncrasies of everyday life through intricate charts and diagrams whose intimacy evokes the voyeurism of encountering a found diary. Shaun O’Dell’s figurative images consider our relationship to nature and the resonance of various American myths within contemporary culture. And Josephine Taylor’s exquisite ink-and-colored pencil drawings address the psychological residue of childhood. While each artist takes drawing in an independent direction, their combined output reveals a directness of approach and modesty of means prevalent in contemporary art at the moment.