Unknown Teotihuacan Artist, Untitled, ca. 1960s-1970s, serigraph on paper. Image courtesy of OMCA.
Ongoing to January 26 — Calli: The Art of Xicanx Peoples at OMCA: “Calli,” derived from Nahuatl, signifies the essence of home, family, and lineage. Immerse yourself in thought-provoking original artworks, installations, sculpture, painting, photography, poetry, and more, that showcase and honor the stories of Xicanx peoples across California in this temporary “Xicanx home.” Featured artists include rafa esparza, Consuelo Jimenez Underwood, Gina Aparicio, Melanie Cervantes, and others. OMCA is located at 1000 Oak St in Oakland.
Barry McGee, “Untitled (T.H.R)”, 2024, mixed media on wood panels. Image courtesy of Berggruen Gallery.
Ongoing to July 25 — California Gold at Berggruen Gallery: From the Gold Rush to Hollywood opulence to tech booms and busts, California Gold speaks to the state’s status as a cultural center for the United States and beyond, with its rich landscapes entrenched in influential history. This summer invitational highlights artists such as Barry McGee, Larry Bell, Richard Serra, and others with ties to the Golden State alongside the diverse relationships of California iconography. Berggruen Gallery is located at 10 Hawthorne St in San Francisco.
Alice Wu, “A Safety Net”, 2022, black wool suiting, quilt batting, thread. Image courtesy of Edge on the Square.
Ongoing to February 28 — Walking Stories at Edge on the Square: Walking Stories contemplates the storied nature of human behavior and how individuals may be perceived as embodied “walking stories”. Artists Alice Wu, Dohee Lee, Farhana Sobhan, Katie Quan, Lydia Nakashima Degarrod, Hana Luna Her, Manon Wada, Mia Nakano, Miko Lee, Related Tactics, Trần Châu Hà and Tsim Nuj Vang explore how we carry, gift, receive and exchange stories. Ranging from interactive installations, video, performance, photography, zines to conceptual potluck, these artists prioritize stories that cultivate interconnectedness, empathy and invested involvement in the world around us. Edge on the Square is located at 800 Grant Ave in San Francisco.
Kara Walker, “Fortuna and the Immortality Garden (Machine)”, work in progress, 2023-2024, mixed media. Image courtesy of Ari Marcopoulos and SFMOMA.
July 1 to Spring 2026 — Kara Walker: Fortuna and the Immortality Garden (Machine) at SFMOMA: Inspired by a wide range of sources, from antique dolls to Octavia Butler’s novel Parable of the Sower, Kara Walker’s new commission considers the memorialization of trauma, the objectives of technology, and the possibilities of transforming the negative energies that plague contemporary society. Through incorporating automatons or black obsidian from Mt. Konocti, Walker explores cycles of ritual, vitality and reflection. Walker continues her incisive examinations of race and sexuality by leveraging expressions of fantasy and humor to confront troubling histories, repossessing control in the process. SFMOMA is located at 151 3rd St in San Francisco.
Agnès Varda, “The Gleaners and I”, 2000, film still. Image courtesy of Fraenkel Gallery.
July 9 to July 20 — Fraenkel Film Festival at Roxie Theater: Presented at San Francisco’s historic Roxie Theater, the Fraenkel Film Festival is an 11-night celebration marking the Fraenkel Gallery’s 45th anniversary. Gallery artists Robert Adams, Sophie Calle, Kota Ezawa, Lee Friedlander, Nan Goldin, Martine Gutierrez, Christian Marclay, Richard Misrach, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Carrie Mae Weems each selected two films shown on a double bill to be presented each night. From Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-Up to Barry Jenkin’s Moonlight, the screenings are films with special meaning for each artist that they wanted to share. Roxie Theater is located at 3117 16th St at San Francisco.
Aaron Wojack, Untitled, 2023, digital photograph. Image courtesy of SF Art Book Fair.
July 18 to July 21 — SF Art Book Fair at Minnesota Street Project: Celebrating its seventh year at Minnesota Street Project, the SF Art Book Fair (SFABF) is a free annual multi-day exhibition and celebration of printed material from independent publishers, artists, designers, collectors, and enthusiasts from around the world. Launched in 2016 as a joint collaboration between Colpa Press, Minnesota Street Project, and Park Life, SFABF places the unique history and perspectives of the Bay Area in conversation with national and international publishing communities. Visitors can experience a range of talks, performances, book launches, special projects, exhibitions, and signings across the Project’s contemporary art campus, as well as select off-site projects and events. Minnesota Street Project is located at 1275 Minnesota St in San Francisco.
Chelsea Ryoko Wong, “A Sweet Sanctuary”, 2024, detail, acrylic on canvas. Dashiell Manley, “new developments”, 2024, detail, oil on linen. Images courtesy of Jessica Silverman Gallery.
July 25 to September 7 — Chelsea Ryoko Wong and Dashiell Manley at Jessica Silverman Gallery: In two solo exhibitions, California-based artists Chelsea Ryoko Wong and Dashiell Manley present new bodies of work. Wong’s Nostalgia for the Present Tense is a vivid exploration of contemporary life through the lens of nostalgic longing. Wong’s colorful and intricate paintings depict everyday scenes infused with a sense of timelessness, blending the past and present into a singular, evocative experience. In Tule Lake, Manley incorporates photography and abstract forms to confront themes of memory and identity. His repetitive and labor-intensive techniques are intertwined with emotional responses to current events and 21st century socio-political realities. Jessica Silverman Gallery is located at 621 Grant Ave in San Francisco.
Young Joon Kwak, “To Refuse Looking Away from Our Transitioning Bodies (Pregnant Kim)”, 2023, glitter, resin, flash, wax pigment glass rhinestones. Young Joon Kwak, “To See Your Self Reflected in Our Chameleonic Transformations (Their Choice)”, 2023, flashe, glass rhinestones on wood panel. Images courtesy of Young Joon Kwak.
August 7 to December 8 — MATRIX 285 / Young Joon Kwak: Resistance Pleasure at BAMPFA: Young Joon Kwak casts the human form—their own and those of friends and collaborators—to create works that resist the boundaries of representation. With their distinctive materials and surfaces, Kwak’s fragmented sculptures draw attention to the details and postures of the body even as they render it in new ways. These transformations and disorientations of the figure invite careful acts of looking and imaginings of belonging. BAMPFA is located at 2155 Center St in Berkeley.