Visual Art

‘Peter Stackpole: Bridging the Bay’ showcases intersection of engineering and artistic vision

New technology allowed Stackpole to take stunning shots of bridge construction and the Bay

Collection of the Oakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California/Courtesy

At first, the construction workers would reflexively pose as photojournalist Peter Stackpole would raise his camera to capture photographs of them at work. Eventually, Stackpole bonded with the crew, and he became just another one of the boys on The Bridge, at which point the workers wouldn’t even notice the Read More…

Visual Art

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‘Good Design: Stories from Herman Miller’ evokes modernity at the Museum of Craft and Design

New exhibition examines the company's history and inventive marketing campaigns

“Good Design: Stories from Herman Miller” at the San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design manages to make one of the most fundamental aspects in our domestic lives — furniture — an expression of modern company culture and consumerism. “Good Design” emphasizes the story behind the design of the furniture Read More…

Visual Art

MigratingIdentities

‘Migrating Identities’ showcases multicultural artists, examines cultural rifts

Brooklyn-based. Los Angeles-based. Tokyo-based. Location serves to indicate cultural ties, identification and legitimacy. But to say that Yamini Nayar, one of the eight artists featured in current YBCA exhibition “Migrating Identities,” is “Brooklyn-based” is both reductive and loaded. “Migrating Identities” showcases the work of eight transcultural artists who are collectively Read More…

Visual Art

Loakal

New exhibitions impress at Oakland Art Murmur

Loakal Art Gallery showcases work by Nite Owl and Chris Granillo

Oakland boasts so much art that it’s impossible to take it all in. Some of it appears furtively, illegally, on the streets and under the onramps. Some of it shows in upscale galleries all over town, with price tags and author credits. Occasionally, the same artist spans the two worlds, Read More…

Visual Art

thisishowitgoes.david.allen

Bay Area artist Richard Diebenkorn featured at de Young Museum

“Do search,” said artist Richard Diebenkorn, “but in order to find other than what is searched for.” This motto is an apt approach for museum-goers at San Francisco’s de Young Museum, which is currently housing works by the Bay Area painter. The exhibit, “Diebenkorn: The Berkeley Years,” on view through Read More…

Visual Art

headspace.sasha.kelly

Krowswork exhibit ‘Headspace’ reflects on relationships within the black community in the Bay Area

Oakland-based artist Sasha Kelley attempts to capture moments of intimacy in her photography

Coinciding with this month’s edition of Art Murmur was the opening of “Headspace,” a solo exhibition at the Krowswork Gallery featuring the work of Oakland-based artist Sasha Kelley. On view through July 13, Kelley’s work depicts relationships within the black community in the Bay Area through the use of photographs, Read More…

Visual Art

impressionists.courtesy.clara.hatcher

‘Impressionists on the Water’ traces nautical themes in history of French art

Exhibition highlights include paintings by Monet and Renoir

The Legion of Honor’s exhibition “Impressionists on the Water,” in conjunction with America’s Cup, offers an examination of the important role boating themes played in the social and artistic contexts of late 19th century French painting. Many of the painters were themselves interested in sailing, rowing and yachting, and their Read More…

Visual Art

ginsberg.theallenginsbergllc

The Beat Generation, as seen through the lens of Allen Ginsberg

Photography exhibition at the Contemporary Jewish Museum offers striking reflection on community, generation and decay

“He looked by that time like his father, red-faced corpulent W.C. Fields shuddering with mortal horror…” Thus reads the inscription of a photo depicting American icon Jack Kerouac and taken by Allen Ginsberg in 1964 — just a few years before the former’s death. Far from the exuberant youth depicted Read More…

Visual Art

artpad.sf.courtesy.thobias-Faldt

ArtPadSF proves disjointed and lacks provocativeness

After trekking through several blocks of the gritty Tenderloin District in San Francisco, stepping into the historic Phoenix Hotel for the third annual rendition of ArtPadSF — an art fair featuring emerging and contemporary art — was a somewhat surreal experience. On its website, ArtPadSF promises to offer its visitors Read More…