Fall Highlights in San Francisco: Galleries

October 15, 2016

Galleries

While this season San Francisco’s art museums are hosting many significant exhibitions (click here for museum highlights), Bay Area art galleries are offering shows by innovative, contemporary artists that promise to not disappoint. LSS Art Advisory reviewed current and upcoming gallery exhibits to outline Fall Gallery Favorites:

David Benjamin Sherry, Winter Storm, Zion Canyon, Utah, 2013 (depicted on left) and David Benjamin Sherry, Canyon de Chelle, Chinle, Arizona , 2013 (depicted on right). Image courtesy of FraenkelLab.

David Benjamin Sherry at FraenkelLab

On view at FraenkelLab until November 26, 2016 is David Benjamin Sherry’s first show in San Francisco. The works on display fall into three genres of photography, landscape, self-portraiture, and still life, which reflect historical photographic methods. Sherry utilizes a non-digital, traditional photographic technique called Analog Photography. Using an 8×10-inch wooden camera, the initial black and white photographic renderings also call into mind historical images. Sherry’s methods of printing, however, “make use of color filters that create intense monochromatic hues, resulting in emotive images, ‘queering’ historical genres (courtesy of FraenkelLab press release).”

Andrea Bowers, Community or Chaos, 2016; Aluminum, cardboard, paint, and neon. Image courtesy of Jessica Silverman Gallery.

Neon Group Show at Jessica Silverman Gallery

Let There Be (More) Light, on view until November 19, 2016, features artwork by 21 artists who work with light, particularly neon and fluorescent light. The show references the various connections between art, light, and culture. The utilization of Neon in art harkens back to the 60’s when artists such as Dan Flavin and Bruce Nauman explored notions of commercialism and consumer culture, as neon signs were erected throughout cityscapes as advertisements. Artists were interested in the influences of such visually ‘loud’ fluorescent signage, and their relation to language and communication. Still exploring issues of communication, Contemporary neon artists have reclaimed the medium, creating works that still blur the boundaries between art, culture, and vernacular.

 

Urs Fischer at the Gagosian Gallery

Urs Fischer’s exhibition entitled Mind Moves, will be hosted by the renowned Gagosian Gallery from October 21 – December 23, 2016. Mind Moves features new sculptural works and paintings created by the artist, bringing “together various formal experiments in which space is divided, sliced, opened, and closed (courtesy of Gagosian Gallery press release).” Interested in the interaction between the artwork and visitors, Fischer sculpted four large works that resemble furniture, inviting visitors to physically engage with the sculptures. Combining several mediums, yet still maintaining the artist’s intention, Mind Moves challenges traditional notions of art and encourages visitors to be inquisitive and playful when engaging with the artwork.

Shannon Ebner, Will and Be Going To, 2016; Archival pigment prints. Image courtesy of Altman Siegel Gallery.

Group Show at Altman Siegel Gallery

 Don’t miss Altman Siegel Gallery’s inaugural exhibition at the gallery’s new location, 1150 25th Street on display from November 11 – December 17, 2016. The show, entitled Will and Be Going To, is comprised of new works by each of the artists represented by the gallery.  Will and Be Going To “suggests both a present state and directive for future mobility (courtesy of Altman Siegel press release).”  The group show is bound to be exciting, including works of myriad mediums, from videography and photography, to more traditional artistic practices like painting and sculpture.


Tony Feher at Anthony Meier Fine Arts

 Anthony Meier Fine Arts will showcase works by artist Tony Feher from November 18, 2016 – December 16, 2016.  Feher utilizes everyday, commonplace objects and materials, often things that most people would consider waste, such as grocery bags and bottles. Through his careful manipulation of such items, however, Feher created sculptural masterpieces that turned the mundane into fine art.

 

Tony Feher, GMP, 2012; Glass, galvanized steel wire, and chrome-plated steel chain. Image courtesy of Anthony Meier Fine Arts.