San Francisco
In 1947, Onslow Ford and Johnson moved to California, choosing the San Francisco Bay Area as the fertile soil where their new ideas would have a chance to grow. While in San Francisco he was invited to give a retrospective show at the San Francisco Museum of Art (1948). The title of the exhibit and the catalogue, Towards a New Subject in Painting, spoke to the fact that he was moving in a new direction in his art.
While living in San Francisco, Onslow Ford met the Greek poet Jean Varda and together they acquired the ferryboat, Vallejo, which they docked in Sausalito and converted into their studios. For many years the ferryboat was an inspiring haven for painters and artists and became a small cultural center on the waterfront. In 1951, Onslow Ford with his friends Wolfgang Paalen, Lee Mullican and Jacqueline Johnson created an exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Art called Dynaton.
In the early 50's Onslow Ford was introduced to Asian philosophy and studied Hinduism with Haridas Chaudhuri and Buddhist scholar Alan Watts at the newly-formed Asian Academy (now called the California Institute of Integral Studies) in San Francisco. Around this time he also met the venerable Zen master Hodo Tobase of the Soto Zen sect and began studying Chinese calligraphy (1952-57). This entrance into Asian thought and practice had a profound influence on his paintings. Buddhist teachings of the Void and Emptiness as well as the practice of calligraphy initiated him into an exploration of the depths of the Mind and its images.
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