In the 1950s and ’60s, San Francisco’s creative energy inspired notable poets. Many of them, it turns out, painted with the same passion that infused their words.“The Painted Word” features more than 80 paintings, drawings and other artworks by William Saroyan, Henry Miller, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and 11 other prominent poets. The show, co-curated by Peter Selz and Sue Kubly, runs through July 14 at the Meridian Gallery.
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When you think about Walt Disney’s “Fantasia,” what comes to mind isn’t a mysterious German illustrator named Heinrich Kley.
Kley isn’t a household name — but he probably should be. He was one of Disney’s favorite European illustrators, and his influence on the 1940 animated film is unmistakable.
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After seeing the abstract paintings of artist Mark Bradford, you might never look at a scrap of paper the same way again.“Mark Bradford” is being presented at two locations: the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art through June 17 and at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts through May 27. The exhibition includes more than 50 paintings, collages, sculptures and other mixed-media pieces by Bradford, winner of a MacArthur Fellowship in 2009.
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Dutch photographer Rineke Dijkstra bravely looks at the muddy waters of adolescence. Her riveting portraits offer viewers a chance to examine — from a safe distance — the complicated and awkward process of growing up.“Rineke Dijkstra: A Retrospective” is at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art through May 28. Organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the exhibition features nearly 70 color photographs and five video installations.
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The poetic paintings of Irish artist Patrick Graham need time to be fully appreciated. They persuade the viewer to ignore the ringing cable cars and shoppers outside the gallery near Union Square and step into solitude — even if only for a moment.
“Patrick Graham — Thirty Years: The Silence Becomes the Painting” — is appropriately titled. More than 35 works by the influential artist are at the Meridian Gallery, a nonprofit arts center housed in a 100-year-old mansion at 535 Powell St.
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The giant Christmas tree in Union Square is extra green this year — so green that it’s artificial.
The evergreen that dazzles holiday shoppers was not cut down in a forest. Instead, the 83-foot Southern beauty that Macy’s bought came from a company in Georgia. Assembled like a giant jigsaw puzzle, the faux fir will be the star of Macy’s 22nd annual Great Tree Lighting Ceremony tonight.
“This tree is perfect,” said Larry Hashbarger, Macy’s director of special productions. “I think most people are probably going to think it’s a real tree.”
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New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast can find something funny in almost everything — especially an evil queen’s midlife crisis.In Chast’s “The Vain But Realistic Queen,” the queen asks, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who, if she lost 10 pounds and had her eyes done and her neck done, and had the right haircut, could, in her age group, be the fairest one of all?”
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San Francisco is known for its sophistication and flair — and partying with Charles Dickens is no exception.
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It’s hard to imagine an artist barely out of college deserving a retrospective. The late photographer Francesca Woodman is getting just that, and deservedly so.Thirty years after her death, her brief career is the focus of an exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The show features more than 150 of Woodman’s hauntingly beautiful photographs, most of them black and white.Using her body as her main subject, Woodman photographed herself nude or wearing vintage dresses, often in dilapidated interiors.
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Artist Richard Serra is famous for his gigantic steel sculptures. What he is less known for are his drawings, now the subject of a fascinating exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.“Richard Serra Drawing: A Retrospective,” which opened Saturday, illuminates the creative process of one of the world’s great 20th-century artists. The landmark exhibition includes roughly 70 works, from densely layered geometric shapes to sketchbooks that have never been shown before.
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In the early 1900s, the Stein family — Gertrude, her brothers Leo and Michael, and Michael’s wife, Sarah — were swept up in the excitement of Parisian life. The American expatriates lived modestly and spent their money on paintings by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and other young artists they befriended.
Their extraordinary collection has been reunited in an exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. “The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-Garde,” which opens Saturday, offers a fresh look at a family that influenced the course of modern art.
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Vacant storefronts in San Francisco’s Central Market neighborhood have gotten an artistic facelift thanks to the efforts of The City’s Art Commission.
Now in its second year, Art in Storefronts features six storefront installations and five murals on and near Market Street. The work, which will remain on view until Aug. 13, is full of unexpected surprises.
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In a corner gallery at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, there’s an exhibit of the works of Tobias Wong. Dominated by a somber black wall, the show is a shrine to the late artist and designer — and well worth a visit.
Wong died last year in New York City at the age of 35. During his short time in the spotlight, he made a deep and lasting impression, looking at the interplay of anxiety and consumerism in a post-9/11 world.
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Flying is more stressful than ever these days — but not, perhaps, if you’re gazing at diaphanous sculptures dangling from the ceiling.San Francisco International Airport’s remodeled Terminal 2 opens next month with a community gathering April 9 and flight service starting April 14. As part of the $388 million redesign, five new public artworks have been installed.“San Francisco has a very rich and vibrant culture,” says Susan Pontious, the director of The City’s public art program and civic art collection. “That’s why people come here. We’re not like other places.”
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There is something so uplifting and fresh about the art of Sister Corita that you may find yourself going through the exhibit again and again.Her brightly colored serigraphs, with words written backwards, sideways and upside down, must be read carefully. From far away, viewers see messages like “HOPE” and “POWER UP.” If you think that’s all, look again.
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