With so many world-class museums hosting blockbuster exhibitions in San Francisco, it can be easy to overlook the smaller independent art galleries tucked away in the neighborhoods.

But for art lovers, galleries can be the best place to discover new work—their curators are often first to identify fresh talent and may be more likely to support boundary-pushing debuts and exhibitions.

This season, SF art galleries are presenting a full roster of shows exploring identity and cultural narratives. Here are some you won’t want to miss.

Surreal, flower-filled scenes in 'The Trouble with Flowers' balance pleasure and sorrow.(Elizabeth Fox, 'The Roses Appear', 2024; Dolby Chadwick Gallery)

Dolby Chadwick Gallery: Elizabeth Fox, The Trouble with Flowers

Elizabeth Fox’s collection of narrative paintings playfully blend pop culture and art history in bright, floral imagination. Influenced by sex icons of the 1950s and '60s coupled with contemporary drag and queer culture, The Trouble with Flowers centers on characters amalgamated from multiple influences who experience a full spectrum of life’s joys and sorrows.

// The Trouble with Flowers runs September 5 through 28 (by appointment) at Dolby Chadwick Gallery, 210 Post Street, Suite 205 (SoMa), dolbychadwickgallery.com. An opening reception will be held Thursday, September 5, from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.

836M: Yaloo, Shininho Destiny

Yaloo’s residency at 836M promises the evolution of a multimedia maritime adventure centered on the character of Shininho, a pirate and elderly female Korean KPOP idol. The journey of her eponymous ship will layer historical events, cultural heritage, and contemporary issues to examine the city’s Korean immigration culture and connection to Asian history. (Those obsessed with Korean art and culture, should also check out Hallyu! The Korean Wave at the Asian Art Museum this fall.)

// Shininho Destiny runs through January 3, 2025 at 836M, 836 Montgomery St. (Jackson Square), 836m.org.

Cult Aimee Friberg: Nicki Green, Eye of the Fountain

In conjunction with her show at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, Nicki Green examines the sacred ritual of a traditional mikveh, the Jewish ritual bath, in the context of queer and trans existence. Two life-size clay figurines—together with a collection of new and recent ceramic sculptures and drawings— anchor this exhibit, which is an exploration of movement, semiotic coding, and embodiment.

// Eye of the Fountain runs September 6 through November 16 at CULT San Francisco, 1401 16th St. (Potrero Hill), cultexhibitions.com.

Visual antidotes and pharmaceutical homages play a prominent role in Beverly Fishman's The Pursuit of Perfection, opening September 12 at Jessica Silverman Gallery.(Beverly Fishman, Pleasure, Liberation, Clarity, Choice, Ease, Self-Determination, 2024; Jessica Silverman Gallery)

Jessica Silverman Gallery: Beverly Fishman, The Pursuit of Perfection

Progress is at the center of Beverly Fishman’s The Pursuit of Perfection in a vibrant, lustrous study on the impact of science and technology on the human experience. Through six new bas-relief wall paintings, along with previous acrylics and enamel works, Fishman positions art as a kind of pharmaceutical aide to a range of altered realities and selves.

// The Pursuit of Perfection runs September 12 through November 2 at Jessica Silverman Gallery, 621 Grant Ave. (Chinatown), jessicasilvermangallery.com. An opening reception will be held Thursday, September 12, from 5pm to 7pm, as well as an artist talk with Susie Kantor, associate curator at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, on Saturday, September 14 at 2pm.

Man's best friend is captured in poignant frames in a series of Elliott Erwitt's photographs spanning decades, on view at Robert Koch Gallery September 12 through November 1.(Elliott Erwitt, "England, Birmingham," 1991; Robert Koch Gallery)

Robert Koch Gallery: Elliott Erwitt, Dogs

The legend of the late street photographer Elliott Erwitt gets a whimsical homage with a series of black and white images that capture the unique bond between humans and dogs. With work spanning decades, Erwitt’s innate ability to capture the extraordinary in the ordinary is on full display.

// Dogs runs September 12 through November 1 at Robert Koch Gallery, 49 Geary St, 5th Flr. (Union Square), kochgallery.com.

The works of Chitra Ganesh's 'Tiger in the Looking Glass' blends the mythical with the contemporary in dreamy, complex landscapes.(Chitra Ganesh, 'Enter the Jungle', 2024; courtesy of Gallery Wendi Norris)

Gallery Wendi Norris: Chitra Ganesh, Tiger in the Looking Glass

Lush landscapes dominate Tiger in the Looking Glass as Chitra Ganesh explores themes of hybridity, double consciousness, and multiverses through portals, mirrors, and shape-shifting characters. The collection of intricate paintings reference the language of Surrealism, mythological iconography, and contemporary graphic references to bring visibility to Ganesh’s queer and femme subjects.

// Tiger in the Looking Glass runs September 13 through October 26 at Gallery Wendi Norris, 436 Jackson St. (Jackson Square), gallerywendinorris.com. An opening reception will be held Friday, September 13, from 6pm to 8pm.

Familiar images are rendered in new mediums through the work of Kota Ezawa, whose first solo exhibition at Fraenkel Gallery opens October 23.(Kota Ezawa, 'Grand Princess', 2023; © Kota Ezawa, courtesy of Fraenkel Gallery)

Fraenkel Gallery: Kota Ezawa

In his first solo exhibition at Fraenkel Gallery, Kota Ezawa reimagines key images from the cultural canon to explore the concept of shared experiences through imagery. Complex visual images are stripped down to their most essential elements in the form of Ezawa’s striking animations, slide projections, light boxes, paper cut-outs, and collages that center on themes of freedom and democracy.