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500 Capp Street Becomes a Trans Sanctuary in Marcel Pardo Ariza’s ‘Orquídeas’
For their residency at the historic David Ireland House, artist Marcel Pardo Ariza decided to roll up the garage door of the ivory tower, and turn the conceptual art space into a sanctuary for the...
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A New Book Tells the Stud’s History Through Hundreds of Bartender-Made Pins
It’s been a banner few months for one of San Francisco’s most important queer venues. The Stud, which closed its doors in the first months of the pandemic, recently announced it will reopen in early...
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The Hip-Hop Photographer Who Makes Guests Feel At Home
View the full episode transcript. Inside of a classic Queen Anne Victorian in West Oakland, photographer Traci Bartlow displays beautifully framed images of the people who shaped hip-hop culture here...
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At SFMOMA, Pacita Abad’s Painted Textiles Stare Right Back
Pacita Abad, ‘100 Years of Freedom: Batanes to Jolo,’ 1998. (Courtesy Pacita Abad Estate; Photo by Chunkyo In) It’s fitting that the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s Pacita Abad retrospective opens...
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‘Spirit of Scrappiness’ Revels in a Material Squish at re.riddle
I truly don’t think we use the word “extrusion” enough — its onomatopoeic quality perfectly captures the squishy nature of its meaning. But thanks to Tana Quincy Arcega’s Spirit of Scrappiness, a goopy...
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In Mills College Art Museum Show, Technology Becomes an Active Collaborator
For at least 15 years, I’ve been trying to break up with my smartphone. Banning it from the bedroom at night, only to long for its dim glow. Exchanging it for a flip phone then, then exchanging it...
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A Rare Glimpse of an 800-Year-Old Painting of Persimmons
At the center of the Asian Art Museum, the gallery featuring The Heart of Zen has transformed into a low-lit, contemplative space divided by a winding path of shoji walls. The hushed ambiance...
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The Best Art I Saw in 2023
It’s that time again — time for a hyper-specific superlative-laden list of the best art experiences I had this year but didn’t get a chance to write about. Looking back at 2023, some throughlines...
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The Bay Area’s Hottest, Weirdest, Worst and Funniest Trends of 2023
Welcome to our list of Bay Area arts and culture trends in 2023. Notably, it was a year that few are describing as “the worst year ever,” as many year-end listmakers were understandably wont to do for...
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SF Camerawork Show Honors the Relationship Between Black Cowboys and Their...
When the Great Migration led Black families to venture north and west with their eyes on new horizons, many made that journey while maintaining the traditions of their Southern roots, bringing recipes,...
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Your Guide to Visual Art at the New Year’s Start
I know it’s hard to leave the coziness of the holiday season — especially when the sun is still setting around 5 p.m. But if you’re full of energetic resolutions and eager to start the year off strong,...
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SFMOMA’s Free Family Day on Jan. 14: A Last Chance to See Two Great Shows
Museum tickets (like most things) have gotten more and more expensive, which is why it’s become altogether necessary to keep track of various local institutions’ free days. In a perfect world, museum...
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Celebrating The Black Panthers’ Oakland Community School
“A school to serve the people.” These are the words written boldly on a wall at the Huey P. Newtown Foundation’s headquarters in downtown Oakland, where they’re surrounded by a wealth of artifacts from...
View ArticleSFMOMA Announces 16 Finalists for the SECA Art Award
The San Francisco Museum of Modern art has announced the names of 16 finalists for their 2024 SECA Art Award. For those unfamiliar with the Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art (a...
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Fight the Urge to Sit at Two Shows of Artful Chairs
All hail the humble chair! It supports us when we’re tired, it coaxes us into better alignment, or more often, assists us in slumping, splaying, lounging and hunching. At its best moments, it organizes...
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Bonnie Ora Sherk’s Eco-Art Experiments Inspire Wonder at Fort Mason
“I dreamt I lived in a triptych — human, plant, animal … the essence of global convergence.” These words, contained in a display case at Fort Mason Center’s Gallery 308, belong to conceptual artist...
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Cultural Appropriation Is the Odd Finale of the de Young’s New Fashion Exhibit
Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style, opening Jan. 20 at the de Young Museum, is an extensive collection of impressive craftsmanship. It’s also a peek into the closets of some of the wealthiest...
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‘Guilty Pleasures’ Invites You to Wrestle With Your Secret Indulgences
Nicole Hayden’s ‘The Body,’ as seen in new 111 Minna group show, ‘Guilty Pleasures.’ (Courtesy of 111 Minna Gallery) There is something deliciously unexpected about it. An art show by seven women,...
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All Your Favorite Arts Organizations Are Turning 50 This Year
What was in the water in 1974? That’s the question you might ask when a surprising number of Bay Area arts organizations celebrate their 50th anniversary this year: Creative Growth, Kala, SF...
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The CJM’s ‘First Light’ Is a Glowing Celebration of Unpredictable Elements
Neon art is elemental (in the periodic table kind of way). Sure, plenty of sculpture is made out of gold, silver, copper or iron, but these are all fairly run-of-the-mill metals. They behave in fairly...
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