Rose B. Simpson: Behold

January 17, 2026–ongoing 

Floor 4

Behold, the latest work by mixed-media artist Rose B. Simpson, is a colossal outdoor sculpture commissioned by SFMOMA for its Floor 4 terrace. Simpson, who resides in Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, is one of our moment’s most important sculptors, working with clay and mixed materials in a matrilineal tradition that bridges past, present and future. At over 24 feet tall, the honey-colored bronze Behold will be visible from various locations in and around the museum, including Yerba Buena Gardens across the street.

The mother and child figures depicted in the sculpture are connected by beaded necklaces strung from their shoulders and a bending, ornamental ladder that arcs between their heads, illuminating a mental and emotional connection that flows between them. In the artist’s words, “Like branches of a tree, a child grows from the hip of a monumental parent.” The figures’ steady outward gazes also connect the sculpture, visitors and the museum itself to its surroundings.

Behold is a profoundly hopeful and vulnerable artwork. As Simpson says, “It asks us to be human with each other, to change our narrative through wonder, witness and a foundation in the soft warmth of our humanity.”

Rose has an installation featuring two art cars and a mural LEXICON at the DeYoung and is installing a sculpture at SF MOMA on January 17, three months from today.

Congratulations to Rose.

Rose is from Santa Clara pueblo but i met her in sf. Her mother is Roxanne Swentzell who made a bronze sculpture owned by my parents. Her cousin is Jody Naranjo who sold me a pot called The Pueblo Girls which depicts a rock band. Actually I tried to recruit Rose to be in that band. It doesn’t really exist beyond that pot, this blog and maybe the text thread.