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…
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…
“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…
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…
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…
“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…
The paradox of our technological interconnectedness is a profound disconnect. We’re all guilty of it — taking a concert photo for Instagram rather than enjoying the event, or Facebooking and tweeting to up our social clout. Despite constantly being plugged in, the real-world connections to our communities are more tenuous Read More…
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…
A. The Hive: Small Voids How many artists does it take to create a one-night pop-up gallery? According to Todd Jannausch of Seattle, it takes 100. His installation, “Small Voids,” is making the last stop of its tour at The Hive in Oakland on Friday after Portland, Ore., and Seattle. Read More…
“Materials are consumed in two ways,” said contemporary artist Adrienne Keahi Pao of her photography, which is based on the relationship between humanity and food. Her photographs, currently part of an exhibition titled “Edible Ephemera” at Root Division in San Francisco’s Mission District, represent only a small fraction of artwork Read More…