The art lover's November to-do list for gallery openings and a dancing feminist manifesto.
Bruce Conner: It's All True @ SFMOMA
More than 250 pieces in mediums including film, painting, assemblage, drawing, prints, photography, and performance comprise the first major retrospective of this Bay Area artist's work. Connor was a pioneer of avant-garde filmmaking and an active force in San Francisco counterculture—in his long and prolific career, he has explored topics ranging from the rise of consumer culture to dread of a nuclear apocalypse. // Through Jan. 22, 2017; SFMOMA, 151 3rd St. (SoMa), sfmoma.org
Quayola, "Pleasant Places," 2015(Courtesy of Minnesota Street Project)
Bitforms Gallery Fifteen-Year Anniversary Exhibition @ Minnesota Street Project
Since 2001, the New York–based Bitforms Gallery has been an incubator for emerging artists and new technologies. This fall, Dogpatch's Minnesota Street Project celebrates BitForm's 15th anniversary with a presentation of works by cutting edge creatives either currently or formerly represented by Bitforms (Jeffrey Blondes, Daniel Canogar, Claudia Hart, and Beryl Korot among them). "Many of Bitform's dedicated collectors are based in the Bay Area, and when it came time to celebrate their 15-year anniversary, it seemed fitting that they would have a presence in San Francisco," says Julie Casemore, project director for theMinnesota Street Project. The exhibition will explore a range of media, from traditional to experimental, illustrating the diversity of approaches over several generations. // Nov. 5 through Dec. 29; Minnesota Street Project, 1275 Minnesota St. (Dogpatch), minnesotastreetproject.com
Mind Moves(Courtesy of Urs Fischer Photo by Johnna Arnold)
Mind Moves @ Gagosian Gallery
New York–based contemporary artist Urs Fischer is often labeled as a Neo-Dada figure. This solo show of new sculptures and paintings will present Fischer's series of linear sculpture, featuring airborne scribbles, alongside photos of the artist's own lips, nose, and eyebrows. Mind Moves will explore the limits of shapes and lines using different mediums such as clay and foam. // Through Dec. 23; Gagosian Gallery, 657 Howard St. (SoMa), gagosian.com
Cliff Hengst "Set Up"(Courtesy of Gallery 16)
Golden Prisn @ Gallery 16
SF artists Cliff Hengst and Scott Hewicker collaborate for the fourth time in Golden Prisn, a series of works that investigates the change landscape of the city and especially of theMission District, where the two artists have lived for nearly 30 years. The exhibition's title has double meaning, relaying both the prismatic beauty of gentrification as well as the concept of a gilded jail. // Nov. 4 through Dec. 22; Gallery 16, 501 Third St. (SoMa), gallery16.com
Sculptures by Michael Fliri(Courtesy of Wendi Norris Gallery)
Becomings and Stellar Games @ Wendi Norris Gallery
Wendi Norris Gallery kicks off the winter season with two new exhibits. Becomings shows the work of Michael Fliri, an Italian-born artist currently living in Vienna whose display of seven masks and other sculptural objects attempt to symbolize human transformation and evolution. Also look for a rare collection of 14 paintings and drawings, from 1939 to 1975, by French artist Marcel Jean. // Nov. 10 through Jan. 15, 2017; Gallery Wendi Norris, 16 Jessie St. (SoMa), gallerywendinorris.com
Sculptures by Zio Ziegler
Zio Ziegler's Bernard Gwilliam and the Quantum Modernism @ Jules Maeght Gallery
Mill Valley's own Zio Ziegler gets his first solo exhibition in Bernard Gwilliam and the Quantum Modernism, which will include seven monumental bronze sculptures as well as large–scale oil and acrylic paintings. With this project, Ziegler illustrates an original philosophy that he defines as a meeting point between contemporary modes of seeing and the development of visual arts. // Through Jan. 30, 2017; Jules Maeght Gallery, 149 Gough St. (Hayes Valley), julesmaeghtgallery.com
Three dancers.(Courtesy by Christy Funsh)
Le grand spectacle de l'effort et de l'artifice @ ODC Theater
Choreographer Christy Funsch returns to the city with Le grand spectacle de l'effort et de l'artifice, which takes a critical look at pageantry. The show begins with extravagant trumpet fanfare and vigorous dancing before fading into movement that's simple and understated.A central tenet of the work is the intimacy between women and a dismantling of what Funsch sees as the cliché of men lifting women. A must-see for feminists of all stripes. // Nov. 4-6; ODC Theater, 3153 17th St. (Mission), odcdance.org
