Art and exquisite design merge in 181 Fremont’s latest art exhibition. The luxury condominium building reshaped the San Francisco skyline, but inside, there’s #61B: a model home designed by Robbie McMillan of AubreyMaxwell.

Though we typically would focus on the high-end furnishings and finishes, we’ve got our eye on the art. PODIUM, a new exhibition of international contemporary black artists, is on display in the space. Curated by 181 Fremont art advisor Holly Baxter, the home features 20 artworks by 15 highly regarded artists: Theaster Gates, Isaac Julien, Angela Hennessy, Angelina Pwerle, Chanell Stone, Erica Deeman, Jibade-Khalil Huffman, Lava Thomas, Leonardo Drew, Moffat Takadiwan, Serge Clottey, Shaina McCoy, Simphiwe Ndzube, Tavares Strachan and Woody de Othello.

McMillan and his husband are a multi-racial family – and long time collectors of black artists – who asked Baxter to curate the exhibition. Though it was initially planned and scheduled to open in March 2020, it was ultimately delayed by the pandemic. “Throughout all of our projects, we strive to design spaces where art is a central focus,” McMillan said. “At its best, art provides character, soul, and the opportunity for internal dialogue that goes so much deeper than the vacuous surface of art that is merely decoration. Our proposal for this home called for an art exhibition featuring all black artists. When we originally presented the proposal at the end of 2019, our focus was on the work of black women artists, but before the exhibition could be assembled, everything went into shutdown mode. When we were finally able to begin working on the final plans for the home design and art exhibition in June of this year, the world was in the midst of incredible transition and torment which included outrage over the murder of yet another black man by the hands of police. It was during this time that we shifted the scope of the art exhibition to include works of emerging and established black artists regardless of gender. While we take pride in all of our work, we’ve never had the honor of being associated with an art exhibition of this magnitude, visceral power, and deep meaning.”

Private viewings of the exhibition are available by appointment through December 31, 2020 (pending local, state and CDC COVID-19 guidance) and can be viewed virtually here: https://181fremont.com/art-program/