The San Francisco Studio School was founded in response to the widespread failure of current art education to provide an understanding of the visual in art. Today many art schools encourage following the latest fashion, pure concept, or the empty pursuit of technical proficiency. In contrast, we offer a deep searching involvement with the artist’s medium, joined with an understanding of originality and tradition, as well as the resources available in art of the past.
The mission of the San Francisco Studio School is to provide a contemporary, in-depth approach to the study of fine art. The disciplines studied are engaged through the common visual principles underlying them. A return to the visual, when combined with empathy for one’s chosen medium, can bring about an indefinable and enduring quality in an artwork that moves beyond the purely conceptual or the expressively self-indulgent.
Students at the San Francisco Studio School are devoted to advancing their knowledge of the disciplines taught, whether they are emerging artists or individuals early in their studies. There is no bias toward either representational or nonobjective art in the program. As a result the students are able to develop an individual approach to their work, unified by understanding and practice related to both the visual and authentic vision in art.
Laura Harden
Director