Jan Rindfleisch

Jan Rindfleisch (May 1, 1942 – March 8, 2025) was an American artist, educator, author, curator, and community builder. Rindfleisch is known for the programming she initiated and oversaw at the Euphrat Museum of Art; for her book on the history of art communities in the South Bay Area, Roots and Offshoots: Silicon Valley's Art Community, and for her role in documenting the careers and legacies of Agnes Pelton and Ruth Tunstall Grant.

Education Rindfleisch had a BS in Physics from Purdue University and an MFA in sculpture from San José State University.

Career

Curator Rindfleisch was the executive director of the Euphrat Museum in Cupertino, California from 1979 to 2011. At the Euphrat Rindfleisch established a history of curatorial programming that was uncommon for the time. This included the manner in which exhibitions were curated, which often involved collaboration with community members; the inclusion of community artists with established artists; and exhibition themes and content that were rare or not yet seen in art museums or art galleries. Rindfleisch's exhibition themes have included political quilts, political issues, artwork by refugees, artwork by immigrants, artwork about aging, art and technology, and the art of games.

Hank Baum states in the California Art Review, "Director Jan Rindfleisch presents exhibits that address philosophical and social issues, challenge taboos, and allow artists to be resurrected who have been obscured by the prejudice of their day."

About a 1985 exhibition, Art Collectors in and Around Silicon Valley, Cathy Curtis of the San Francisco Examiner wrote, "Provocative and timely, irreverent and unencumbered by the pompous baggage of so many art exhibits, 'Art Collectors...' is the kind of show that asks more questions than it answers." Rita Felciano noted in her review of the 1987 The Power of Cloth, "The Euphrat... puts together exhibits from the outside—events that usually have some bite to them."

In a 1984 Artweek review of Faces, Sylvie Roder stated: "Leave it to Jan Rindfleisch to come up with something special. She has taken a basic theme and treated it in complex ways."

Roder continued: In the 1990 book, Art Around the Bay: a guide to art galleries and museums in the San Francisco Bay Area, Paul Monaco and Murwani Davis write about The Euphrat and Rindfleisch, "The changing exhibitions attain national and international stature. Director/Curator Jan Rindfleisch aims for thought-provoking shows that conceptualize art in relation to ideas and cultural developments. Shows include "Art of the Refugee Experience," "Drawing From Experience: Artists Over 50," and a contemporary painting show called "Paintforum."

Author Notable artists Rindfleisch has exhibited and written about, many early in their careers, include Marjorie Eaton, Mildred Howard, Agnes Pelton, Ruth Tunstall Grant, Mary Parks Washington, Connie Young Yu, Juana Alicia, Jean LaMarr, Paul Pei-Jen Hau, Flo Oy Wong, Consuelo Jimenez Underwood, and the Muwekma Ohlone people. Rindfleisch's participation in the role of securing Agnes Pelton's legacy is documented in the Phoenix Art Museum's 2019–2021 traveling exhibition and companion monograph.

Community advocate Rindfleisch was a founding member of the alternative, performance arts space, WORKS/San José, in 1977. In 1985 she helped established the Cupertino Arts Commission. Additional civic involvement includes participating in the Getty Museum Management Institute, UC Berkeley (1989), serving as a member of the California Arts Council Visual Arts Panel (1990), the Santa Clara County Arts Council (1989–1997), San José City Hall Exhibits Committee (2006–2013), and the Arts Council Silicon Valley Local Arts Grants Review Panel (2013). Rindfleisch has acted as juror for many exhibitions and arts organizations outside of her role at the Euphrat Museum including the Sanchez Art Center, WORKS/San José and Women Eco Artists Dialog. Rindfleisch is a social justice advocate and early spokesperson on issues of inclusion and racism in the arts. She spoke on strategies of inclusion and provided frameworks to fellow arts professionals as early as 1992.

Awards and recognition Writing about Rindfleisch as a recipient of their 2014 Women of Influence Award, Silicon Valley Business Journal stated:

It continued,

She formed an energetic partnership between De Anza College, the museum and the community, and developed the award-winning Euphrat Arts & Schools Program that provides more than 30,000 student instruction hours annually. She curated more than 100 thought-provoking, cross-disciplinary exhibits, presented untold stories (from Angel Island to the loss of Native American languages), and has developed art exhibition programs for academic, civic, corporate and school sites.

Rindfleisch has also received the following: Arts Council Silicon Valley's Arts & Business Arts Leadership Award; Santa Clara County Woman of Achievement (1989), Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce Leadership Vision Award in the Arts (1993), and the Asian Heritage Council Arts Award (1988).

Selected publications

Staying Visible, The Importance of Archives. Introductory essay, Jan Rindfleisch, produced in conjunction with Euphrat Museum of Art. 1981. "Computers and Art," in CADRE 84. Marcia Chamberlain, ed. San Jose State University Art Department, San Jose, California. 1983. Content Art, Contemporary Issues. Rindfleisch, Jan, curator Cupertino, CA: Euphrat Gallery, De Anza College, 1985. "Women, Politics and Quilts" in Beyond Power: A Celebration. Southern Exposure Gallery, San Francisco, California. 1987. "Symbolic Rituals" in Irregular Gazette. San Jose State University Art Department, San Jose, California. Fall 1987. Art of the Refugee Experience. Rindfleisch, Jan, Cupertino, CA: Euphrat Gallery, 1988. Creative Power: the Art and Activism of Ruth Tunstall Grant, Jan Rindfleisch with Barbara Goldstein, essay by Lizzetta Lefalle-Collins, Santa Clara, CA: Ginger Press, 2019. "Staying Visible: How a Small-Town Couple Boosted Agnes Pelton’s Star" in California Desert Art, Japenga, Ann, ed. California, 2022. "From a Thrift Store to the Whitney—Making the Ignored Visible" in Entanglements: A curated collection of contemporary culture, Wylde, Nanette, ed., CA: Hunger Button Books, 2022. Building Together, Rindfleisch, Jan; with Ann Sherman, Nancy Hom, and essay by Karen Tseng. Santa Clara, CA: Ginger Press, 2024.

Archives Rindfleisch's archives are held in part at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library at San Jose State University.