SFMOMA Celebrates Painter Suzanne Jackson’s First Major Retrospective

SFMOMA Director Christopher Bedford and curator Jenny Gheith welcomed over 200 guests on September 25 for the opening of “Suzanne Jackson: What Is Love,” the first major museum retrospective devoted to the full breadth of the acclaimed painter’s work. The celebratory evening brought together museum leadership, supporters and friends including legendary artist Betye Saar, Suzanne Jackson Foundation Board members Pamela Joyner and Fred Giuffrida, while collectors Sarah Miller Meigs, Brenda and Larry Thompson and Tina Jones joined the milestone celebration.

McCalls created a thoughtfully tailored menu, but the evening’s most touching moment came through a heartfelt tribute to the artist’s mother’s 1970s candy shop, Mrs. J’s Sweet Shop. The donor events team recreated the store’s marquee sign alongside vintage photographs of Jackson with her mother, reimagining popular candies of that era into elevated desserts crafted by the caterer, including Mini Snickers Cheesecake Shots and Reese’s Chocolate Ganache Peanut Butter Tartlets. The inspirational gathering reflected the significance of Jackson’s decades-long artistic journey, demonstrating how SFMOMA continues to champion artists whose work deserves broader recognition in the pantheon of American modern and contemporary art.