Move Over, Michelangelo: Doodle 4 Google Winner's Art Heads to Museum

Picasso, get out of the way. There’s a new internationally recognized artist in town.

On Friday morning, millions of people switched on their computers and saw the artwork of South City’s own , the Monte Verde second grader with his outer-space themed rendition of Google’s logo.

Lopez’s work got a splashy worldwide introduction through . But from now through July, it will hang alongside masters of art history on the walls of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).

“People are very taken by the drawings,” said John Zarobell, assistant curator for collections, exhibitions and commissions at SFMOMA who curated the exhibit of all 40 Doodle 4 Google finalists. “They’re drawings that are so fresh and unique, it generally wins people over.”

Visitor Judy Golden of San Francisco instantly recognized Lopez’s winning piece when she saw it hanging on the wall with the first-place blue star on the label.

“I opened Google today, and I saw this,” Golden said. “Seven-years-old, that is incredible. Adults can’t do this; I’m not kidding.”

SFMOMA agreed to exhibit the Doodle 4 Google entries about five or six weeks ago, Zarobell said. The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York is also exhibiting the pieces.

The exhibit is in SFMOMA’s Koret Visitor Education Center and includes large interactive computer monitors that allow visitors to create their own version of the Google logo.

“What we want to do is engage children to participate,” Zarobell said.

Zarobell said that Google informed SFMOMA on Monday about the contest results, but staff had to keep their lips sealed until Thursday, when the contestants and the world learned of the winner.

As part of the partnership, Google is sponsoring increased family programming at SFMOMA, including kid-friendly activities every Sunday (up from every other week) and a free Google Family Day on July 17.