Word to Mother: California Coming Home at White Walls

California Coming Home captures the free-spirited nature of San Francisco. The London-based street artist Word to Mother loosely layers illustrations of cityscapes, cartoon characters, hovering skulls and shady characters. The chaotic collages, inspired by the artist's visit to California almost two decades ago, are atop backdrops of hazy pastels, giving them a dreamlike quality. However, the vague references to San Francisco and urban style ground the works in reality. 

California Coming Home runs through 12/7 at White Walls, 886 Geary St.

Dancing on Serpents in Reconfigured City. 2013. 60 x 54. Pigment, ink and printed matter on paper. Image courtesy of the artist.

Ranu Mukherjee: Apparitions at Gallery Wendi Norris

Ranu Makherjee likes color. Apparitions, a collection of textile prints, ink paintings and collages and films, pops with pink and turquoise. And, those colors are as much a part of her works as the subjects. Fresh off major exhibitions at San Jose Museum of Art and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the San Francisco-based artist uses historical and mythological imagery from around the world to build on the concept of the contemporary nomad. The figures in the collages are spiritually suggestive -- they waver between representation and abstraction -- while the vibrant colors give the works a modern edge.

Apparitions runs 11/14 through 12/21 at Gallery Wendi Norris, 161 Jessie St.

"Mistaken Water (PBR 6 pack)". Gourds, wax, seagrass, acrylic. 10 x 6 x 5 in. 2013.

Jeremiah Jenkins: Survival Guide at Ever Gold Gallery

Be forewarned, "you might die if you do not see this show." So says Jeremiah Jenkins, who manifests how to obtain the five key elements for survival (fire, food, water, shelter, help) through a series of multi-media works. Serious, though, this is not, as Jenkins approaches survival from a sardonic angle. Take, for example, his self-portrait of carrying "shelter"  in the form of a dollhouse on his back, or the photo of an arrow shot into a perfectly packaged steak. 

Opening reception Friday 11/22, 7 - 10 p.m. Survival Guide runs 11/22 - 1/4 at Ever Gold Gallery, 441 O'Farrell St.