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A PROMISED GIFT ENHANCES MUSEUM’S CERAMICS COLLECTION
By Rick Clogher
Sure, some people may donate art to museums just for the tax benefits. But other folks have more meaningful reasons for giving: generosity, a desire to increase an artist’s exposure, a love for a particular genre or a deeply felt connection to an institution. For Phyllis Kempner and David Stein, it was all these things. The couple — both psychologists and longtime San Franciscans — are no strangers to the art world, having been involved with SFMOMA’s Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art for many years. “We were both interested in contemporary art,” says Kempner, “and began collecting just before we got married.” American and international pieces still line the walls of their home, but a dozen years ago or so, their collecting shifted noticeably to Asia, and particularly to ceramics. “When we started, we were mostly drawn to traditional forms,” says Kempner. “But we’ve become increasingly interested in the more sculptural area. We tend to like either very expressionistic work or quite minimal reductive pieces. And we have great unanimity in tastes — that may have something to do with the fact that we’re psychologists.”
with the Asian for quite a few years by then, so making a gift to it just seemed a logical fit.” The recent gift the couple made — the beginning of a promised gift of their entire Japanese contemporary ceramics collection — comprises 19 pieces: 10 Japanese ceramics, one Korean ceramic, one bronze sculpture and a number of prints. “We care a lot about the Asian, its present and its future,” says Kempner. “And we expect to be giving a certain number of pieces every year.” Stein adds that he hopes they might inspire other collectors to do likewise. But primarily, he says, “we hope that it helps the museum build a real niche collection in contemporary ceramics.” n
Top: Blue and black bowl, 1990–2014, by Maeda Masahiro (Japanese). Porcelain. Courtesy of Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Gift of Dr. Phyllis A. Kempner and Dr. David D. Stein, 2015.7. © Maeda Masahiro. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Bottom: Faceted vase, 2013, by Tadashi Nishihata (Japanese, b. 1948). Stoneware with akadobe-yu glaze. Courtesy of Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Gift of Dr. Phyllis A. Kempner and Dr. David D. Stein, 2015.21. © Tadashi Nishihata. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.
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Being of one mind about acquisitions did lead to a problem, however. “We reached a point when we realized we had a really big collection,” says Stein. “Phyllis had been working
Upper left: David Stein and Phyllis Kempner with Kodo (Beat), one of their gifted ceramics. Photo by Quincy Stamper. Kodo (Beat), 2011, by Mihara Ken (Japanese, b. 1958). Multi-fired unglazed stoneware. Courtesy of Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Gift of Dr. Phyllis A. Kempner and Dr. David D. Stein, 2015.15. © Mihara Ken.