Installation view of cast bronze bells by Davina Semo. Image courtesy of Jessica Silverman Gallery.
January 9 to February 22 – Davina Semo: A Serious Celebration at Jessica Silverman Gallery: This exhibition of new work focuses on the hanging bronze bells that have been part of the artist’s oeuvre since 2017. Semo’s bells are clever and artful. They have a significant presence but take up no floor space. They’re heavy but defy gravity. They’re silent, and yet they can disrupt conversations. Ever aware, they face all directions at once. For “A Serious Celebration,” Semo has delved further into her favored form, exploring new materials, shapes, paints, patinas, clappers, and strike tones. Jessica Silverman Gallery is located at 621 Grant Avenue in San Francisco.
left: Claire Oswalt “Altissimo in Blue,”2024 (detail). Acrylic on sewn canvas. right: Julia Haft-Candell “Hand Holder with Legs” 2024. Ceramic, gold, bronze. Images courtesy of Rebecca Camacho Presents.
January 9 to February 22 – Claire Oswalt: Moon Math and Julia Haft-Candell: Hold at Rebecca Camacho Presents: Claire Oswalt’s exhibit includes a suite of new paintings and preparatory studies. The exhibition title refers to the artist’s ongoing interest in the systems and structures – both science and metaphysics – that provide us with a possible mapping, choreography, and visualizations to both understand and attempt to comprehend the world around us. Julia Haft-Candell works across media, but her practice is rooted in clay-based sculpture. She incorporates multi-layered glazes often with bronze and gold flourishes into sculptural objects whose forms are derived from the artist’s visual lexicon, comprising specific symbols and motifs such as combs, hands, chains, and infinity loops.Rebecca Camacho Presents is located at 526 Washington Street in San Francisco.
Kota Ezawa “Alcatraz Is An Idea (2024) ” . Image courtesy of Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture.
January 11 to March 9 – Kota Ezawa: Here and There – Now and Then at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture Gallery 308: This site specific exhibition is a deep dive into San Francisco’s collective memory, transforming recent Bay Area history into immersive art. Here and There — Now and Then incorporates the site’s physical location on San Francisco’s northern waterfront — where the Grand Princess sailed and a stone’s throw from Alcatraz Island — and explores its transformation from a military base to an artistic and cultural hub. Gallery 308 is located in Landmark Building A at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco.
Aerial view of past FOG fair. Image courtesy of Drew Alitzer Photography.
January 23 to 26 – FOG Design + Art at Fort Mason Center: This annual art fair celebrates today’s leading contributors to the worlds of design and visual arts, bringing together leading international art galleries; prominent 20th-century and contemporary design dealers; and a weekend of exciting programs. FOG Design + Art is located at Pier 2 & 3 at Fort Mason Center.
Meghann Riepenhoff “Day 287: mushroom ink + Prussian Blue Pigment + algae pigment + commercial pigment + gingko chrolophyll + Rattlesnake Lake + Moncton boulders” 2024. Image courtesy of Haines Gallery.
January 21 to March 15, 2025 – Meghann Riepenhoff: State Shift at Haines Gallery: Riepenhoff creates her cyanotypes directly within the landscape, allowing the elements to leave physical inscriptions on paper coated with photographic materials. Marking an important breakthrough in her practice, State Shift sees the introduction of new pigments and gestures into Riepenhoff’s process. Haines Gallery is located at Fort Mason Center, Building C.
left: Ester Partegàs “knead, penetrate, let go (cat spaceship donut)” 2024; right: Michelle Lopez “HEMP DREAM” 2023; both from STEADY, Ballroom Marfa. Image courtesy of The Wattis Institute.
January 21 to April 12 – Ester Partegàs and Michelle Lopez: Steady at The Wattis Institute: The word “steady” implies a continuous state of becoming balanced, developed, and supported. The act of steadying requires a physical, structural, and conceptual interdependence. In this two–person exhibition, Michelle Lopez and Ester Partegàs’s precarious, playful, and powerful sculptures harness physical and material components –– even using the ground below and the air above. Instead of separation and assertion, there is a counterbalance. The Wattis Institute is located at 145 Hooper Street, Level 2 within the CCA campus in San Francisco.
Installation view of “Soleé Darrell: Cosmic Ceremony”. Image courtesy of MoAD.
Ongoing to February 2 – Soleé Darrell: Cosmic Ceremony at MoAD: In Cosmic Ceremony, Soleé Darrell’s paintings evoke distant galaxies, star formations, and supernovae to describe the inner worlds to which she hopes to draw us ever nearer. Each silk velvet painting masterfully blends vivid dyes and texture, elevating earthly hues into celestial realms. MoAD is located at 685 Mission Street in San Francisco.