Art & Museums

COURTESY DOLBY CHADWICK GALLERY“Woman/Landscape” is among the evocative new works by Bay Area painter Terry St. John on view at Dolby Chadwick Gallery.

Terry St. John’s new abstracts reveal painter’s figuartive roots

A survivor of the mid-20th-century figurative-art sphere, Bay Area painter Terry St.…

COURTESY DOLBY CHADWICK GALLERY“Woman/Landscape” is among the evocative new works by Bay Area painter Terry St. John on view at Dolby Chadwick Gallery.
COURTESY FINE ARTS MUSEUMS OF SAN FRANCISCO“Schiava Turca

16th century ‘Schiava Turca’ a painting of mystery

Two remarkable young women recently visited San Francisco, and one — a…

COURTESY FINE ARTS MUSEUMS OF SAN FRANCISCO“Schiava Turca
courtesy photoAnthony Discenza’s large piece “Sell Your Hopes” is among the works in “Way Out West.”

Art replacing advertising in Mission street exhibition

A new organization in San Francisco is on a mission to democratize…

courtesy photoAnthony Discenza’s large piece “Sell Your Hopes” is among the works in “Way Out West.”
COURTESY HAINES GALLERY“Gymnopedies: Loop” is among the works on view in “Ethos in Bronze

‘Ethos in Bronze’ sculptures evoke the natural world

Sculptor Yoshitomo Saito combines differently textured objects from the natural world in…

COURTESY HAINES GALLERY“Gymnopedies: Loop” is among the works on view in “Ethos in Bronze
COURTESY JOHN BERGGRUEN GALLERY“Little Martha” is among the evocative landscapes by Bolinas-based artist Michael Gregory on view at John Berggruen Gallery in The City.

American landscapes mythic, real in ‘Long Way Home’

Set against backdrops of vast gorgeous nature, timeworn farm buildings become arresting…

COURTESY JOHN BERGGRUEN GALLERY“Little Martha” is among the evocative landscapes by Bolinas-based artist Michael Gregory on view at John Berggruen Gallery in The City.
COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Jewish American ladies fuel mah jongg craze

If you grew up in a Jewish home in postwar America, chances…

COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Courtesy Lou DematteisLou Dematteis’ picture of the United Farmer Workers huge march in 1975 is among the fascinating images on view in “The Valley/El Valle” at City Hall.

Central Valley’s past, present seen in photos

Provocative, historical, compelling, beautiful, educational and intriguing: These adjectives describe the images…

Courtesy Lou DematteisLou Dematteis’ picture of the United Farmer Workers huge march in 1975 is among the fascinating images on view in “The Valley/El Valle” at City Hall.
COURTESY FINE ARTS MUSEUMS OF SAN FRANCISCO“Young Hustlers

Friedkin captures 1970s gay life in fine art photos

When photo essayist Anthony Friedkin elected to spend 18 months capturing the…

COURTESY FINE ARTS MUSEUMS OF SAN FRANCISCO“Young Hustlers
cOURTESY MATTHEW HASELRodin’s sculpture “Left Hand of Eustache de St. Pierre” is the basis for an anatomical computer model that is part of an exhibit at Stanford University’s Cantor Arts Center.

Rodin’s sculptures inspire surgery students

It’s difficult to imagine that 19th-century sculptures could provide lessons in 21st-century…

cOURTESY MATTHEW HASELRodin’s sculpture “Left Hand of Eustache de St. Pierre” is the basis for an anatomical computer model that is part of an exhibit at Stanford University’s Cantor Arts Center.
courtesy photoA Thai statue

Asian Art Museum’s ‘Gorgeous’ has no claims on what’s beautiful

“Gorgeous,” an unusual new exhibit at the Asian Art Museum, is a…

courtesy photoA Thai statue
COURTESY NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART

Meyerhoffs’ modern masterpieces come to de Young

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is renovating some of…

COURTESY NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
COURTESY DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

Stanford showcases Carleton Watkins’ timeless photos

The black-and-white photographs of Carleton Watkins are so beautifully composed with such…

COURTESY DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
COURTESY ARTHUR DONG COLLECTIONLovingly preserved photographs and mementos from Chinatown’s lively mid-20th-century nightclub scene are on view in “Forbidden City

‘Forbidden City’ documents jumpin’ Chinatown cabaret scene

Just like time travel, "Forbidden City, U.S.A: Chinese American Nightclubs, 1936-1970" beckons…

COURTESY ARTHUR DONG COLLECTIONLovingly preserved photographs and mementos from Chinatown’s lively mid-20th-century nightclub scene are on view in “Forbidden City
Courtesy photoMore than 50 works by Ellsworth Kelly

Summer arts preview: Museums and galleries

A few big shows are opening in Bay Area museums and galleries…

Courtesy photoMore than 50 works by Ellsworth Kelly
courtesy photoThe entrance to the California Academy of Sciences exhibition “Skulls” showcases a skull of an African bull elephant.

Skulls head nifty Academy of Sciences show

As if it weren’t enough to cover a 90-foot-long wall with 431…

courtesy photoThe entrance to the California Academy of Sciences exhibition “Skulls” showcases a skull of an African bull elephant.
COURTESY DIANA GALVIS-ESCOBARDiana Galvis-Escobar’s mixed media “We All Bleed the Same Way” is among the works on view at the Old Mint at “Principal

SFAI showcases 2014 master’s students

San Francisco Art Institute President Charles Desmarais is really looking forward to…

COURTESY DIANA GALVIS-ESCOBARDiana Galvis-Escobar’s mixed media “We All Bleed the Same Way” is among the works on view at the Old Mint at “Principal
COURTESY CRIS MATOSSusan Almazol is pictured with her work “Let’s Eat” at “Eating Cultures” at SOMArts Cultural Center.

‘Eating Cultures’ provides food for thought

“Eating Cultures,” a small art exhibit at SOMArts Cultural Center, is an…

COURTESY CRIS MATOSSusan Almazol is pictured with her work “Let’s Eat” at “Eating Cultures” at SOMArts Cultural Center.
COURTESY MIR AND SNOHETTAA rendering of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s new building shows the Howard Street entrance to a glass-walled gallery the on ground level

Ambitious SFMOMA expansion on schedule

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s expansion is right on track.…

COURTESY MIR AND SNOHETTAA rendering of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s new building shows the Howard Street entrance to a glass-walled gallery the on ground level
COURTESY BONNIE HIMBERGJane Woolverton made the large

Artist Jane Woolverton makes magic with six-pack holders

San Francisco sculptor Jane Woolverton is a master recycler. The artist, 83,…

COURTESY BONNIE HIMBERGJane Woolverton made the large
COURTESY GEORGE NELSON & ASSOCIATES

‘Mad Men’ furnishings and much more at CJM

With the increasingly popularity of midcentury modernism — seen in all its…

COURTESY GEORGE NELSON & ASSOCIATES