Tim Hawkinson “Thumbsucker” 2015, plaster and urethane.  Image courtesy of Hosfelt Gallery.

Ongoing through May 7th – Tim Hawkinson: Garden Variety at Hosfelt Gallery:  Tim Hawkinson’s idiosyncratic creations are meditations on nature, machines, mortality, the body and human consciousness.  Since the 1980s, the artist has used common found and store-bought materials, handcrafted objects, and machines to shift similar subject matter off-kilter, creating visual conundrums and conceits imbued with deeper meaning.  In this exhibition, many of the objects use Hawkinson’s own body as source material.  One highlight of the show is Thumbsucker (2015), a two-part hanging sculpture of a moon and astronaut entirely made of casts of the artist’s lips and fingers. Hosfelt Gallery is located at 260 Utah Street in San Francisco.

Chad Hasegawa “Keith Haring” 2015, latex on canvas.  Image courtesy of the de Young Museum.

April 6th – May 1st – Chad Hasegawa: Self Portrait, de Young Artist Studio artist in residence:  Each month the de Young Artist Studio Program enables visitors to meet artists and gives artists an opportunity to work with the public.  Featured artists work in the Kimball Gallery at the de Young Museum and create a studio environment in the space, speak with museum visitors about their work, exhibit works of art and engage in hands-on art activities with the public.  This month painter Chad Hasegawa will be showing a series of large-scale portraits of artists–including Keith Haring, Chuck Close, Joan Mitchell, Ai Weiwei, amongst others– alongside a series of minimal abstract work.  Museum visitors will have the opportunity to work directly with Hasegawa on a large collaborative painting, working with the same brushes and paints he typically uses, and learning his technique of applying paint onto a canvas with oversize brushes.  de Young Artist Studio hours are Wednesday – Sundays 1-5 pm, Fridays April 15, 22, 29 until 8:45pm. The artist reception will be Friday, April 29th, 6-8:30pm.

ART AUCTIONS

Guests enjoy a previous live auction at Southern Exposure. Image courtesy of Southern Exposure.

Saturday, April 9th 7:00 -11:00pm – Southern Exposure: Avant Garden: Southern Exposure’s Annual Fundraiser and Art Auction, Avant Garden, is a celebration of their dedication to cultivating artists’ practices within the cultural ecosystem of the San Francisco Bay Area. The gallery will be transformed into a fecund garden of earthly delights, featuring an abundance of artworks in the live and silent auctions, delicious food and drinks, and artist-led experiences. This event provides direct and critical support for Southern Exposure’s programs.  The auction preview exhibition is on view this week from 12 – 6 pm M-TH.  Purchase event tickets here.

Artworks by Amanda Marchand, Kota Ezawa and Jenny Ottinger available at the auction. Images courtesy of Kala Art Institute.

Saturday, April 23rd 6:30 – 10:00pm – Kala Art Institute: Art|Kala 2016 Gala and Auction:  Kala Art Institute announces Art|Kala 2016, its annual gala benefit auction to be held at the Kala Gallery, 2990 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley. The auction — featuring over 100 works by Bay Area artists along with art-related treasures offered by local donors — provides vital support for Kala’s extensive array of artistic, cultural, and educational programs serving the East Bay community and beyond.  The exhibition opens Thursday April 7th from 6-9 pm and will be on view for two weeks before the auction event.  Purchase event tickets here.

Top: Visitors enjoy a previous open house. Bottom: Sarah Rara.  Images courtesy Headlands Center for the Arts.

Sunday, April 17th – Spring Open House and Project Space Exhibitions opening at Headlands Center for the Arts:  Twice a year the Headlands Center for the Arts opens up their campus allowing visitors to roam the various buildings.  Engage with artists in their studios, experience new work and works in progress, see performances, hear readings and stay for housemade lunch in the Mess Hall. Also don’t miss the two exhibitions opening in the Project Space on the same day.  Adventures in Solitude: Cybele Lyle and Broken Solar: Sarah Rara.  Both events are from 12 – 5pm and located at Headlands Center for the Arts, 944 Simmonds Road, Sausalito.

ART FAIRS

Interior image of Art Market San Francisco, 2014.  Images courtesy of Art Market Productions.

April 27th – May 1st – Art Market San Francisco: Celebrating its sixth year, this fair will return to the Festival Pavilion at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center.  A contemporary and modern art fair, Art Market San Francisco will feature established galleries from around the globe bringing a diverse group of artists and galleries to San Francisco. Click here for tickets and more info.

Scenes from last year’s Parking Lot Art Fair.  Images courtesy of Parking Lot Art Fair.

Saturday, April 30th from 8am – 12noon – Parking Lot Art Fair at Fort Mason Center:  Founded and led by artist Jenny Sharaf, the Parking Lot Art Fair aims to champion the Bay Area’s community of independent artists and artist-run gallery spaces in a fun-spirited and surprising way.  Spanning across the Fort Mason Center’s parking lot and into the Marina Green public lot, each unique exhibition space will feature site-specific installations, performances, nomadic galleries, and an array of pop-up projects illustrative of San Francisco’s burgeoning local art scene.  Over one hundred artists will use cars, rental trucks, the space around the vehicles, and temporary pseudo-parklets to transform the concrete lot into an art fair that is both curated and improvised at once. 

During the same weekend, in the neighborhood of the Fort Mason Center is the stARTup Art Fair.  In it’s second year at Hotel del Sol the stARTup Art Fair will present over 40 vetted, solo exhibitions over the weekend.

Laura Owens “Untitled” 2015, acrylic, oil, flashe, silkscreen ink, charcoal on linen.  Image courtesy of The Wattis Institute.

April 28th – July 23rd – Laura Owens at The Wattis Institute: Los Angeles based artist Laura Owens opens an exhibition of new work that includes paintings, books, sounds as well as an immersive installation of silkscreened,wood–blocked, flocked, painted, and hand–printed wallpaper. The opening reception is Thursday April 28th from 6-10 pm.  The Wattis Institute is located at 360 Kansas Street in San Francisco.