Not only is the majority of the art represented at major institutions created by men, the work of women artists sells for far less than those of male counterparts of a similar caliber.
It’s a disparity that “truly shocked” Bay Area philanthropist Komal Shah when she began curating what is now one of the country’s leading private assemblages of work by women artists, the Shah Garg Collection.
A former Bay Area tech executive originally from Ahmedabad, India, Shah left the industry in 2008 to focus on philanthropic pursuits. She acquired her first artwork, It Rained So She Rained by Indian-American artist Rina Banerjee in 2011, an ethereal but poignant piece inspired by her immigration from India to New York. She was soon “completely enamored with the process of collecting,” Shah explains.
It was just a coincidence that the work the novice collector was initially drawn to was that of women artists like Jacqueline Humphries, Laura Owens, Charline Von Heyl, and Amy Sillman. So, when she and her tech entrepreneur husband Gaurav Garg began to build the collection in earnest in 2014, it seemed only natural to focus on their work. The fact that women artists were underrepresented in most institutions only added to Shah’s determination.
“I felt that if I was going to pour my time and resources into something, it should be something impactful,” says Shah. “So, I’ve focused my work on collecting and amplifying women artists to help bring visibility to and reduce that disparity.”
More than 70 women artists are represented in the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive’s (BAMPFA) new show, Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection. The exhibition, which premiered in New York last year, is the presentation’s only West Coast engagement. Its opening last weekend coincides with the launch of the multiyear Shah Garg Women Artists Research Fund, a new grant supporting programs, publications, and exhibitions featuring women artists at BAMPFA.
Juxtaposing contemporary artistic practices with pathbreaking historical works, Making Their Mark shines light on the influences, methodologies, and affinities of nearly a century of women artists.
“The show’s curators, Cecilia Alemani and Margo Norton, have done a really fantastic job of teasing out themes and putting these artists in conversation together,” says Shah. “It’s a truly multigenerational show, and I think what’s so interesting is that the curation of the show allows people to see that intergenerational dialogue happening, and to trace the impact of an artist who is now in their 80s on an artist who is much younger. It’s a very powerful experience.”
Shah’s favorite works in the exhibition include Joan Mitchell’s 1992 Untitled. One of the artist’s final diptychs, it “evokes pared-down versions of the sunflower form, and is truly one of her most outstanding paintings,” she explains. Crisscross, which comes from a 2021 series of paired paintings by Sarah Sze which explores ideas of repetition, mirror imagery, and continual cross-pollination is another work she’s especially excited for BAMPFA visitors to encounter.
“It’s such an absolute joy to be building and showing this collection to the world,” Shah continues. “Knowing that I am contributing to bringing [women artists] visibility and to making their practice sustainable is so reaffirming to me.”
Raising the profile of women artists and the opportunities available to them is also the motivation behind the Shah Garg Women Artists Research Fund. Besides its expansive gallery space, one of the reasons BAMPFA was chosen to implement the five-year program was UC Berkeley’s storied history in social justice, feminist studies, and art history. It didn’t hurt that Shah has a personal connection to the university, either. She earned her second Master's Degree, an MBA at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business (the first she completed at Stanford).
As for the exhibition, Shah hopes museum-goers will “truly delight in these works,” and “experience the joy that comes from standing in front of such phenomenal art.” Just as important, though, is recognizing the impact of a show that includes not a single male artist.
“Truthfully, that is a very rare experience for a group exhibition, and I hope the singular nature of this experience is not lost on museum guests,” she says.
// Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection is on display at BAMPFA from October 27 through April 20, 2025; 2155 Center St. (Berkeley), bampfa.org.
