Liz Cohen “Lowrider Builder and Child” 2012, C-print. Image courtesy of SFAI.

Tuesday, May 2nd at 7:00pm – Liz Cohen Lecture at SFAI: Liz Cohen is a photographer and performance artist whose work spans and manipulates the divisions between image, identity, and life. She is best known for the subversive project Bodywork, in which she transformed an aging East German Trabant into an American El Camino low-rider, and herself into a car customizer and bikini model. Her current project, Him, is an allusive and performative collaboration with the poet Eric Crosley, who identifies as a eunuch. Cohen is currently Artist-in-Residence and Head of the Photography Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art. This lecture is free and open to the public, RSVP here. SFAI is located at 800 Chestnut Street in San Francisco.

Todd Gray, 2014 “Cape Cast and Nickel” archival pigment prints and found antique frames

Ongoing to August 27th – Todd Gray: My Life in the Bush with MJ and Iggy at the Museum of African Diaspora (MoAD): Stemming from the archival images of Gray’s time as Michael Jackson’s personal photographer through the 1980s and his experience living and documenting rock & roll in Los Angeles, the works in this exhibition problematize images and demonstrate the ways in which we highlight and obfuscate black cultural roots in our collective social memory. Gray’s practice is not only based on the creation of a photograph, but is also deeply invested in exposing the intentional choices inherent in the production of an image and how that might be a reflection of social conditions. Gray performs the implicit choices of inclusion and exclusion, by explicitly presenting his process in image making, using found local thrift store frames and collaging images upon faces. This exhibition seeks to question notions of image making, the act of viewing, and the complicated engagement between image and viewer. MoAD is located at 685 Mission Street in San Francisco.

Installation view of “Made in San Francisco” including Jonathan Runcio and Facundo Arganaraz. Image courtesy of Romer Young Gallery.

Ongoing to May 20th – Made in San Francisco at Romer Young Gallery: A three person exhibition featuring artists Facundo Argañaraz, Greg Ito and Jonathan Runcio. All three artists began their art career in San Francisco and have been critical to the development of the art scene beyond their own practice. Argañaraz is a founding member of the gallery Et. Al; Ito is the co-founded Ever Gold Gallery and San Francisco Arts Quarterly (SFAQ); and Runcio is the co-founder and co-director of Capital. While this connection defines the title, Made in San Francisco, what is more exciting is how each of these artists are approaching painting with innovation and freshness. Romer Young Gallery is located at 1240 22nd Street in San Francisco.

Installation view of Urs Fischer: The Public & the Private. Image courtesy of the Legion of Honor.

Ongoing to July 2nd – Urs Fischer: The Public & the Private at Legion of Honor: The Legion of Honor has invited Fischer to bring a contemporary perspective to our understanding and appreciation of the Museums’ permanent collection, specifically the acclaimed collection of Rodin sculptures. Urs Fischer’s sculptures and paintings explore the tension between the material and the digital, object and image. Drawing on Western art history and popular culture, he continuously recalibrates the techniques and modalities underlying the creation and consumption of artworks. The Legion of Honor is located in Lincoln Park at 100 34th Avenue in San Francisco.

Hope Gangloff “Dark Horse (Tim Traynor)”, 2015 acrylic and collage on canvas. Image courtesy of Cantor Arts Center

Ongoing to September 24th – Hope Gangloff Curates Portraiture at Cantor Arts Center: New York-based artist Hope Gangloff has been invited to mine the museum’s permanent collection and select key works to hang alongside her own contemporary paintings. Using the format of artist as curator, this exhibition will create a conversation between past and present, while inviting viewers to experience the Cantor’s rich, historical collection through the eyes of a celebrated artist working today. The Cantor Arts Center is located at Stanford University.