Some Particular Heaven: Ideas of Utopia in the BAMPFA Collection

August 5, 2026–July 11, 2027

Some Particular Heaven: Ideas of Utopia in the BAMPFA Collection is a yearlong exhibition that invites visitors to contemplate spiritual, social, environmental, and political possibilities through artworks from a vast range of historical periods and places. This wide-ranging, multidisciplinary presentation of artworks from BAMPFA's collection considers utopia as an ongoing project rooted in the pursuit of social justice, and a future in which all have the resources to thrive.

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Unidentified artist (Japan), Nehan-Zue: The Parinirvana (Entry of Buddha into Nirvana), 14th century. Hanging scroll: Ink and color on silk; 45 1/8 x 37 3/8 in. (image). Gift of Mr. and Mrs. C.D. Carter, 1972.17.
Francisco Goya, Por qué? (Why?), from Los desastres de la guerra (The Disasters of War), 1819-1823. Etching, reinforced with aquatint; 6 x 8 in. (plate). Gift of Mrs. Louise Mendelsohn, 1970.103.32.
Mark Rothko, Number 207 (Red over Dark Blue on Dark Gray), 1961. Oil on canvas; 92 3/4 x 81 1/8 in. Museum purchase, 1965.33.
Gordon Ashby, Drawing for Be a Transformer, 1970. Ink on vellum; 28 1/2 x 27 in. Gift of the artist, 2015.18.4.
AMBOS, Con Nuestros Manos Construimos Deidades (With Our Hands We Build Deities), 2023. Woven rope and fabric, embroidery, ceramics; 48 x 48 x 120 in. Contributing artists: Karla Aguiñiga, Tanya Aguiñiga, Natalie M. Godinez, Annie Alarcon, Juan Villavicencio, Sergio Soberanes, Katie Mejia, AMBOS Ceramics students at Jardin de las Mariposas (TJ, MX) and Casa Arcoiris (TJ, MX); Public workshop participants in Los Angeles, San Diego and Tijuana. Courtesy of AMBOS and The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Photo: Joshua White.

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Some Particular Heaven: Ideas of Utopia in the BAMPFA Collection

August 5, 2026–July 11, 2027

For centuries, artists across the globe have responded to the turbulence of their societies by imagining ideal worlds. In response to moments of crisis and human suffering, artists, writers, and scholars have drawn on the concept of utopia—a term formed from Greek words that literally translate to "no place"—and looked toward the potential of the future as a way to reckon with the problems of the present. Some Particular Heaven: Ideas of Utopia in the BAMPFA Collection invites visitors to contemplate spiritual, social, environmental, and political possibilities for alternative realities through artworks from a vast range of historical periods and places. From fifteenth-century European paintings and Buddhist hanging scrolls produced throughout Asia to contemporary photographs and installations, the works on view demonstrate how art has been central to envisioning better social realities, rethinking inherited narratives of...

This yearlong exhibition, occupying the lower-level galleries, is organized into thematic groupings that consider utopian thought within varied spiritual practices; present abstraction as a form of contemplation and transcendence; examine design as a method for realizing utopian visions; and survey works from the late 1960s to the present that demonstrate how artists and activists have sought to collectively transform social dynamics. This wide-ranging, multidisciplinary presentation of artworks from BAMPFA's collection considers utopia as an ongoing project rooted in the pursuit of social justice and a future in which all have the resources to thrive.

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Some Particular Heaven: Ideas of Utopia in the BAMPFA Collection is curated by Tausif Noor, Curatorial Associate, and Elaine Yau, Associate Curator and Academic Liaison.

Some Particular Heaven: Ideas of Utopia in the BAMPFA Collection

August 5, 2026–July 11, 2027

Upcoming Events

Curators' Tour: Elaine Yau and Tausif Noor on Some Particular Heaven

Exhibition Tour: Some Particular Heaven: Ideas of Utopia in the BAMPFA Collection

Past Films