Arts & Culture :: Art

Bey watch

Bey watch

  • by Sura Wood
  • Feb 18, 2020

"Dawoud Bey: An American Project," co-curated by Corey Keller, opened at SFMOMA last week, and it's a winner.

Orlando's odyssey across time & gender

Orlando's odyssey across time & gender

  • by Sura Wood
  • Feb 11, 2020

Tilda Swinton has curated her first art exhibition, a photography show named for "Orlando," a fable she has called a "wild goose chase of a fantasy" and a "magic carpet ride."

10th annual readers' poll starts

10th annual readers' poll starts

  • by Cynthia Laird
  • Jan 29, 2020

This year marks the 10th annual Bay Area Reporter readers' poll, the Besties, and voting begins Thursday, January 30.

Rashaad Newsome takes San Francisco

Rashaad Newsome takes San Francisco

  • by Sura Wood
  • Jan 28, 2020

"Collage is the connective tissue for all the work I do," says queer black artist Rashaad Newsome. The medium, coupled with movement and a propulsive soundtrack, informs his videos.

Subversive ceramics: Ron Nagle at BAMPFA

Subversive ceramics: Ron Nagle at BAMPFA

  • by Sura Wood
  • Jan 21, 2020

"Handsome Drifter," Ron Nagle's first survey in 25 years, is now at BAMPFA.

Looking ahead: 2020 in Bay Area art museums

Looking ahead: 2020 in Bay Area art museums

  • by Sura Wood
  • Dec 30, 2019

The big news of a year packed with a surfeit of retrospective exhibitions is the transformed Asian Art Museum, whose grand opening is slated for May.

Masterpiece theatre

Masterpiece theatre

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Dec 30, 2019

It's a brand-new year, and the Asian Art Museum is right in the moment by unveiling its completely transformed collection galleries with new installations.

2019 in Bay Area art museums

2019 in Bay Area art museums

  • by Sura Wood
  • Dec 23, 2019

Ah, what to say of 2019? It was relatively free of fireworks splashed across the arts news, glaring missteps or stand-up-and-shout museum exhibitions.

Art from injustice: 'Soul of a Nation'

Art from injustice: 'Soul of a Nation'

  • by Sura Wood
  • Nov 19, 2019

"Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power" is the most overtly political exhibition the Fine Arts Museums have presented in recent memory. It's an export from the Tate Modern, London.

Art & pleasure trip to San Jose

Art & pleasure trip to San Jose

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Nov 19, 2019

A quick jaunt to San Jose brought Out There many happy hours of art enjoyment. The San Jose Museum of Art is currently showing a handful of special exhibits.

Loving jazz music in an art museum

Loving jazz music in an art museum

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Oct 29, 2019

The highlight of Out There's recent jaunt to New York City was an artistic encounter with the MacArthur "genius grant"-winning jazz pianist and bandleader Jason Moran.

James Tissot's frisson of fashion & faith

James Tissot's frisson of fashion & faith

  • by Sura Wood
  • Oct 22, 2019

The 19th-century French painter James Tissot may be the greatest artist many people know next to nothing about. Despite being a successful international art-star in his day, and his friendships with Monet, Manet and Degas, he is not well-known.

Visiting the City Different

Visiting the City Different

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Oct 1, 2019

Santa Fe, New Mexico was calling to us, in the form of a wee press trip last week for a tour of the cultural riches on offer.

Noguchi & Hasegawa: the Two-Hander

Noguchi & Hasegawa: the Two-Hander

  • by Sura Wood
  • Oct 1, 2019

The intersection of Japanese aesthetics and mid-century modern art underlies "Changing and Unchanging Things: Noguchi and Hasegawa in Postwar Japan," a new exhibition at the Asian Art Museum.