SF Art Week '25: Creative Overflow
A very light recap of all the creativity on view in San Francisco.
Did you feel all the creative juices flowing through SF last week? Noise 13 used to celebrate SF Art Week with our In/Visible Talks Conference so I didn't hit up as many city-wide events during those 4 years. But now that INVT is on hold I had time to check out more of the fabulous creativity pulsing through the city. I spent my days hosting the pop-up gallery we curated at the Fyrn Showroom but visited other galleries in the evenings. To maximize my viewing time I mostly hit the group shows.
ICA SF Kicked off the week
The first stop was the ICA SF kick-off party. This museum recently moved from its first home in the Dogpatch to the BofA Building in FiDi. Still free but with more space to breathe. I spent time in the current exhibit a few weeks before the event but the works currently on view are worth a stop.
“The Poetics of Dimensions”, a group exhibition curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah, illuminates artistic practices utilizing materials such as durags, shoelaces, felt, leather, single-use plastic, and more. These artists have crafted pieces that evoke contemplation.
You know I love good food inspiration. Kathleen Ryan’s sculptures reimagine American consumerism, creating a spectacular vision of beauty and abundance now marred by decay. Big and gorgeous both from afar and close up.
13 Galleries in One Stop
Next up was the Minnesota Street Project Art Week Party. All the Galleries were open the music was flowing and the people watching was part of the show. I was particularly in love with one toddler who was bringing joy to each visual feast and dancing to the music.
Favorite galleries included:
The Moleskin Project at Hashimoto Contemporary, a collective exhibition of artists’ sketchbooks from around the world co-curated by gallery owner Ken Harman and Sydney-based artist Rod Luff.
Jack Fischer presented “Atmospheric Disruptions”, the paintings of Kirstine Reiner Hansen and Lisa Golightly
Municipal Bonds show "Artifacts from the SKZ," marking Los Angeles-based artist Dan Levenson’s debut
Between you and Me: Handshake Project: where we held a glob of quick dry clay and shook hands.
Smaller Curated Viewings
Since I missed INVT so much and the act of gathering creatives together over a conversation, we put on our own event on Thursday night. From a VIP salt tasting at 4:00 to an Art & Design of a Taste Experience panel discussion at 6:00 (and the art show that ran all week) my heart was full. Read more about the panel on A Dash Of’s Substack.
The artists that were part of our curated food-themed show included:
Risa Iwasaki Culbertson and her felted foods
Nina Katchadourian’s “Seat Assignment” collages from Catharine Clark Gallery
Erin Hupp’s ceramic mirrors, vases, and egg cup lights
Amanda Akoto-Legrand’s floral full of edibles like pears and mushrooms
Rachel Hébert’s paintings from her “A Catalogue of Gratitudes” series via Poet and the Bench
One of our art show collaborators was the Catharine Clark Gallery. Their new installation features Rope and Revolver: Artists Respond to Frederic Remington’s ‘The Broncho Buster.’ The group exhibition features new and recent work by Sandow Birk, Michael Goldin, Charles Lee, Deborah Oropallo, Andy Rappaport, Stephanie Syjuco, and Wanxin Zhang.
Friday night we popped into the CCA-curated show “Works in Progress III”. This exhibition series focused on furniture + object-making in the San Francisco Bay Area with public bench concepts.
The Big Daddies
A must-stop, still up through March 9th, is the Amy Sherald: American Sublime show at SFMOMA. Sherald’s artworks convey the quiet power of everyday people and invite viewers to participate in a more complex debate about accepted notions of American identity. I love the use of color and both flat and dimension. Her process of selecting her models and their outfits for photo inspiration is also highly observed
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And I rounded out the week at the always-inspiring FOG Fair at Fort Mason. Usually, this is first on the list but with our own art show, I had to hold off till the weekend. I noticed so much more texture and multi-medium this year.
A few of my favorite pieces include:
Sam Shoemaker’s reishi mushroom and ceramic sculptures at OCHI Gallery
Cross Lypka’s multi-process ceramics at the House of Seiko
Alexandra Karakashian’s engine oil paintings and the whole booth from Southern Guild
A little gem of a painting, “Seach & Rescue” by Chang Ya Chin at Kiang Malingue
I’m so grateful to live in a city that still brings out creativity. I'm looking forward to Design Week later this year.
Loved the panel and the art show you curated! Amanda's florals are stunning.
You captured so many of the shows we enjoyed, too! The Salt tasting you did was a super cool experience! If anyone missed a few of my takeaways, here goes: https://substack.com/@bonniepowers/note/c-88350134?r=4xlyg&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action