Here's our must-see list for art lovers this month.
What: Mona Kuhn: The First Chapter
When: May 6–June 10, 2017
Where: EUQINOMprojects at the Minnesota Street Project
Why: Because you're comfortable with excellent nude portraiture. This exhibition features the work of LA-based photographer Mona Kuhn, known for capturing modern and personal nudes, in the first collection for her POEMS series. The series—inspired both by the Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights" and Sistine Chapel frescoes,—portrays intimate images of au natural women and men immersed in serene natural landscapes. Kuhn herself will be on hand for an artist-guided walk-through on Saturday, June 3, 2017, from 6 to 8pm, bringing a sense of even greater intimacy to the viewer. // EUQINOMprojects, 1275 Minnesota Street (Dogpatch), euqinomprojects.com
Steve Cagan, Women doing laundry in one of the few streams that flowed through the Salvadoran refugee camp in Colomoncagua, Honduras during the Salvadoran civil war, 1988
What: Steven Cagan: Working Pictures
When: May 11–July 1, 2017
Where: San Francisco Camerawork
Why: Because you're an activist. This collection—shown for the first time on the West Coast—highlights five decades of Steve Cagan work documenting human struggles around the world. Cagan's work depicts labor's demise in his home state of Ohio, political struggles across Central America, and indigenous peoples' fight to maintain their way of life in Colombia. The range of images capturing people raising their voices should inspire you to keep on #resisting here at home. // San Francisco Camerawork, 1011 Market Street (FiDi), sfcamerawork.org
Nucifer by Rex RayCourtesy of Gallery 16
What: Rex Ray
When: May 4–June 30, 2017
Where: Gallery 16
Why: Because you love the work of the late Rex Ray. When popular Bay Area collagist and pop artist died in 2015, Gallery 16 became sole curator for his estate. This show highlights over 70 Ray artworks, including his epic collection of 500 paper cut-outs organized library style called "Wall Of Sound," as well as large scale canvases, prints, and other collages. Coinciding with the exhibition, Gallery 16 will release Rex Ray: We Are All Made Of Light, a new monograph that celebrates the artist's career, and SFMOMA will present a selection of Ray's work in conversation with Paul Klee's work from their permanent collection. // Gallery 16, 501 3rd Street (SoMa), www.gallery16.com
Untitled Sf_Giants by Mike MandelCourtesy of SFMOMA
What: Mike Mandel: Good 70s
When: May 20–August 20, 2017
Where: SFMOMA
Why: Because you are addicted to the 70s and can appreciate a good prank. Mike Mandel created one of his signature pieces, The Baseball Photographer Trading Cards, in 1974 when he traveled through the U.S. asking famous photographers—Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, and Minor White, to name a few—to pose wearing a baseball cap turning the images into baseball cards (complete with sometimes hilarious stats) that he sold in packs of ten. This exhibition includes photographs, books, and a film, all made during the same period he was collaborating with his friend, photographer Larry Sultan. // SFMOMA, 151 3rd Street (SoMa), sfmoma.org
Summer LeeCourtesy of re.riddle
What: Here is Where We Meet.
When: May 5–June 1, 2017
Where: re.riddle
Why: Because you like to push the boundaries. Re.riddle is a pop-up gallery that showcases site-specific art events in different locations around the world. For the inaugural show in San Francisco they connected SF-based Summer Lee and Nathan Goldsmith to create a series of works that explore relationships, communication, and the intimacy between private and public identity. Both Lee and Summer communicated with art sending work back and forth across the country as they got to know one another developing an art-based language construct that evolved into this exhibition of photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, large-scale installation and more. //re.riddle @ Navaisha Studio&Gallery, 1499 Grant Avenue (North Beach), reriddle.com
Children of Rome by Jeffrey BlankfortCourtesy of Italian Cultural Institute
What: The Children of Rome
When: May 10–June 9, 2017
Where: Italian Cultural Institute
Why: Because who doesn't love Rome? SF-based photojournalist Jeffrey Blankfort shows the images he took of children on the streets of Rome during the mid-60s. During his time in the Eternal City, Blankfort was struck by the how children bahaved in Rome and they way adults cared for children, their own and any other children they encountered. // Italian Cultural Institute, 601 Van Ness Avenue (Civic Center), iicsanfrancisco.esteri.it
With a mighty volition by Ted LincolnCourtesy of
What: Fanthoms of the Leviathan
When: May 11–June 17, 2017
Where: The Great Highway Gallery
Why: Because you've read Moby Dick and really, really liked it. America artist Ted Lincoln combines the use of traditional Chinese technique, like sumi ink on rice paper, and the Floridian style of cypress wood folk art to design a show around the classic American novel. Obsessed with the book, Lincoln found many analogies with his life and decided to dedicate a whole exhibition to it. "Both the book and I originate from a small corner of Massachusetts, and the scene that introduces Ishmael, the narrator of the intricate novel that, like my artwork, unifies previously distinct genres, occurs at a site just a few miles from my own place of birth," said the artist. // The Great Highway Gallery, 3649 Lawton Street (Outer Sunset), thegreathighway.com
The Birth of Venus, cover illustration for The New Yorker, August 2014Courtesy of Danese/Corey, New York
When: Through September 3, 2017
Where: Contemporary Jewish Museum
Why: Because you can't get enough of this New Yorker cartoonist. Angsty, nerve-wracked Roz Chast has a signature style of finding the worst in a possibly good situation, and her wit is on display here in a large restrospective that includes snarky New Yorker covers, the complete panels from Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?—her humorous and heart-wrenching paean to caring for her mix-matched parents at the end of their lives, her early work for National Lampoon and the Village Voice, and selections from her childrens books. Run, don't walk to this show. // Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission Street (SoMa), thecjm.org
Woman on Porch, Richard DiebenkornCourtesy of SFMOMA
What: Matisse/Diebenkorn
When: Closing May 29, 2017
Where: SFMOMA
Why: The last days are nearing to see this unique and highly-praised show that compares the work of French modernist Henri Matisse to that of Richard Diebenkorn, one of California's most renowned painters. Through 100 artworks, the show highlights how the visual poetry of Diebenkorn was deeply influenced by Matisse // SFMOMA, 151 3rd Street (SoMa), sfmoma.org
