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7/29/10 The San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery just moved their print collection into flat files in the front of the gallery.  Incredible affordable multiples by local artists ranging from Leslie Shows to Ala Ebtekar to Jim Goldberg! 

7/24/10 Joyce Grimm and Dina Pugh of Triple Base Gallery report that the storefront next door to them is available for rent, the perfect spot for a new gallery if you are thinking of starting one.  Check out their newly relaunched website at www.basebasebase.com

7/23/10 Two interesting guest-curated shows on view now:  Andrew Schoultz at Guerrero Gallery (Andrew's girlfriend Hilary Pecis recently signed on there); and Sabrina Buell at Silverman Gallery.  Sabrina is the West Coast Director of Matthew Marks Gallery, and had access to Jessica Silverman's family collection for this show. 

7/22/10 There's a new art fair in town!  Art Fair San Francisco  November 19 - 21, bills itself as the affordable art fair, and seeks independent artists who do not have gallery representation to fill its 130 $650 booths.  Organizer Peter Keresztury has run the Art Deco & Modernism Fair since 1984 so he's not new to the fair business.  Assuming Kereszurtsky can generate traffic, seems like a smart risk for an artist who wants to meet new collectors.  

7/21/10 Newish online art publication SquareCylinder is the latest incubator project at Intersection for the Arts.

7/18/10 Charles Linder showed decapitated boar heads in the back room at Ever Gold last night as part of his new work on display.  While the heads on the main gallery wall were taxidermy mounts, the ones in the back were real... and bleeding.  Linder is a hunter and the heads had come out of his deep-freeze that morning, defrosting nicely under the cozy lights.  Can you put a boar head in the green bin? 

7/17/10 Howard Junker, editor of the venerable arts publication ZYZZYVA, took a field trip to SFMOMA to see the Fisher Collection, and didn't care for it, to say the least.  Read his rant here.

7/16/10 The Varnish gals are back on the radar.  Jennifer Rogers and Kerri Stephens write they are dealing from an office in the Hobart Building (582 Market) and opening a new San Francisco location in early 2011!  (You will recall their historic warehouse space at 77 Natoma closed early this year thanks to eminent domain and the most glamorour bus station ever planned.)  They'll be participating in the BLOOOM creative industries art show in Cologne, Germany, later this year.

7/15/10 Announcing the recipients of the 2010 Kala Fellowship Awards, juried by the Kala board (which counts Peter Selz among its ranks) and an invited Bay Area arts professional (This year Jens Hoffmann, Director of the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts at the California College of the Arts).  And the winners are... Elisheva Biernoff (Director of The Lab), Renee Gertler (Swarm), Jessica Ingram, Jennie Ottinger, Genevieve Quick, Zachary Royer Scholz, Youngsuk Suh, Davis, and Frances Young.  Tonight at Kala see work by 2009-2010 Fellowship artists (Larry Rinder helped select): Val Britton, Chris Duncan, Katy Higgins, Laura Paulini and Bassem Yousri.

7/14/10 Very VIP reception last night to celebrate two new artists joining the Electric Works stable and preview their work before upcoming fall shows: Ana Teresa Fernandez (Tournesol '07 and formerly with Braunstein/Quay) and Lucy Puls (formerly with Wirtz).  Lucy couldn't make it because she's in Europe but Ana's fan club included Luis R. Cancel and Meg Shiffler from SFAC, and Laurie Lazer of the Luggage Store Gallery.  Doors will be open to the public for a blockbuster reception this Friday featuring the work of Dave Eggers and David Byrne.  Literary AND music royalty in one exhibition.  Call the fire department, it's going to be crowded!

7/13/10 It's official. Steven Wolf Fine Arts has moved to a new location and plans to open his doors this fall: 2747 19th St. Unit #A (between York and Bryant).

7/11/10 2nd SFAQ release party at SFAI last night was a blast.  JD Beltran moderated panelists Heather Villyard of ArtSpan, Eli Ridgway of Baer Ridgway Exhibitions, Julie Lazar indy rockstar, and Justin Hoover of SOMArts; but Jay Howell was unmoderatable.  The self-taught artist and curator of 111 Minna may have been feeling his oats becuase his cartoon series was just picked up by Nickelodeon and he's excited about moving to LA.  Outrageous behavior ranged from getting up midway to refill his beer from the keg outside; to saying things like "Bay Area Now sucked hard last year" and "Oakland sucks;" to defining the recipe for success in the art world to "get famous first, then make money off it later."  The most boldface name in the audience was Maurice Kanbar, founder of Skyy Vodka, who is on the SFAQ advisory board.  Snaps to Eli Ridgway for the thoughtful observation that institutions in this town offer A LOT of support to emerging artists and established artists, but not much for artists who are in the middle.   A challenge to whoever is planning the next panel talk about Bay Area visual art- let's elevate the conversation from complaining about minor league status and instead bring attention to those who are doing something about it.

7/7/10 Way to get a new generation involved in your museum.  YBCA's new design show Technocraft curated by Yves Behar a two-fer.  Yves is a celebrated young industrial designer and his partner is Sabrina Buell, West Coast Director of Matthew Marks Gallery and an avid collector in her own right. 

7/4/10 There's hope for Gen Xers is this art world lousy with Millenials. Headland's Tournesol Award winner (for outstanding emerging painter) goes to an old guy this year.  Jack Leamy just received his MFA in painting from SFAI, but graduated with a BFA from Pratt in '85. 

7/1/10 Biggest afterparty for a gallery opening ever?  Last night the four galleries who collaborated in "They Knew What They Wanted": Frankel, Berggruen, Ratio 3 and Claudia Altman-Siegel celebrated with over 50 people in the upstairs room at Pauline's Pizza.  The exhibition, brainchild of Jeffrey Frankel, invited artists Robert Bechtle, Shannon Ebner, Katy Grannan and Jordan Kantor to curate an exhibition mined from their four galleries' inventories.  A creative way to shake off the summer doldrums and generate some excitement in a down economy.  

6/30/10 Rena Bransten Gallery seekingto hire a bartender for gallery openings- contact Aimee Reed.

6/29/10 Quite an eclectic group who won SF Gate's "Best of the Bay": 1st Arthaus, 2nd SOMARTS, 3rd SF Camerawork, 4th- a 2 way tie between Creativity Explored and Rita Sklar.

6/26/10 Justin Giarla of White Walls and The Shooting Gallery is expanding his empire: 941 Geary debuts tonight! 

6/25/10 Sad news...  Paul Thiebaud passed away last weekend. 

6/24/10 Toomey Tourell has opened a second space, Toomey Tourell Projects, in 575 Sutter.  That's the same building as the Maria Abramovic Institute, of which Stephen Tourell is founding and current board president.  Also in the building: Alphonse Berber Projects and China Projects, which also count Tourell as active supporter.

6/23/10 There's afforable work at Basel too. Satellite fair Liste is just a 10 minute tram ride from the high roller action and featured plenty of work for $10,000.  There San Francisco's own Claudia Altman-Siegel won a prize for best new exhibitor!

6/18/10 New SECA Council named for the 2010/2011 year: Marjory Graue & Lizanne Suter – Co-chairs; Alka Agrawal & Daniel Lucas – Art Award; Kent Baer  & Alan Ratliff – Collecting / Accessions; Soraya Haas – Finance; Rimma Boshernitsan & Marcus Keller – Membership; Lauren Jaeger Ford & Kelly Huang & Kevin Pong– Programs; Marianna Stark– Member-at-large.  Most interesting appointments are of newcomers Kent Baer of Baer Ridgway Exhibitions and Kelly Huang of Mary Zlot & Associates.

6/13/10 Heroes & Hearts 2011 call for entry now posted.

6/12/10 Coveted invitations to Robert Shimshak and Marion Brenner's 29th annual 4th of July party at their home in the Berkeley Hills went out this week via evite.  Bob is often referred to by just his last name, and is as famous as fellow one-namers Cher or Madonna in our world for his collection of work with a large proportion of Bay Area based emerging artists.  Shimshak reports: "The garden is exceptionally beautiful this year and you can visit our 4 new chickens."

6/11/10 DiRosa Preserve has welcomed Ann Trinca back to the fold (see Intrigue 5/5).  Ann's role at the Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek had been cut back, and she'd been looking for part-time/consulting work to fill in.  Ann will return to her role as full-time Marketing & Events Manager.  So Manuel R. Merjil, part-time Public Relations Manager, is moving on.

6/9/10 Headlands Benefit Auction emceed by Steven Wolf the most successful ever!  Great to see new faces in the crowd.  Those young bold-faced-names were shopping!  See photos here

6/8/10 More new beginnings since Jack Hanley closed his San Francisco space.  Chris Johansen is now showing with Altman Siegel Gallery.  

6/7/10 Mike Bianco, CCA Curatorial Practice grad and formerly co-principal of Queens Nails Annex, has accepted the job of associate curator at Ballroom in Marfa, Texas.

6/2/10 Now manage your SFMOMAmembership online!  Check your membership level and expiration date, update your contact information, even RENEW! 

5/28/10 Vote for the best art gallery in SFGate's Best of the Bay contest here!  

5/27/10 Party pics on SFLUXE from SFAI Vernissage preview party http://sfluxe.com/2010/05/25/san-francisco-art-institute/ 

5/26/10 Greg Ito and Andrew McClintock, co-owners of Ever Gold Gallery and publishers of San Francisco Arts Quarterly want to get the word out:  If you have an event planned during the months JULY, AUGUST, and SEPTEMBER 2010, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to be included in SFAQs next SOMA District Issue. 15,000 copies printed.  There is no fee to submit. SFAQ is all about keeping things FREE.  Requested Information:  Name of Venue, Address, Title of Event, Opening date/time, Closing date/time, Description 50 word max, Contact, DEADLINE: MAY 31st, 2010. SEND INFORMATION TO: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

5/25/10 SFMOMA SECA Award finalists were announced 5/14: Mauricio Ancalmo, Michael Arcega, Amy Balkin, Michelle Blade, Nate Boyce, Castaneda/Reiman, Sergio De La Torre, Anthony Discenza, Bruno Fazzolari, Rebecca Goldfarb, Michael Guidetti, Misako Inaoka, Colter Jacobsen, Jason Kalogiros, Pawel Kruk, Ruth Laskey, Bernie Lubell, Chris McCaw, Sean McFarland, Brion Nuda Rosch, Jennie Ottinger, Kamau Amu Patton, Alison Sant, Paul Schiek, Alice Shaw, Weston Teruya, Gabrielle Teschner, Richard T. Walker, Lindsey White, and Pamela Wilson-Ryckman.   These artists were picked from over 250 submissionsby Apsara DiQunizio, assistant curator of painting and sculpture, and Tanya Zimbardo, assistant curator of media arts.  Studio visits begin early September, winners announced December 16, 2010.

5/24/10 Alexis Laurent threw himself a coming out party Friday night.  The self-taught artist opened his 5,000 sq foot studio to a select crowd to celebrate the publication of his monograph "Painting and Sculpture" published by Urban Digital Color with introduction by Robert Flynn Johnson, urator Emeritus, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, ine Arts Museums of San Francisco.  Pre-2009 painting is experimental; 2009+ steel and wood sculpture is impactful and very interesting.  Alexis' 4 fabricators were on hand to enjoy the moment as well.  

5/23/10  Max Fishko, Director of the San Francisco Fine Art Fair shares news about the success of the city's first fine art fair in nearly a decade: "Hey Marianna- YES we will be back in 2011!  I am pleased to report the fair was a big success for us and our participating dealers.  Local patrons were tremendously supportive, turning out steadily from Thursday evening on. We saw about 15,000 people this weekend, with 3,000 on opening night alone. Dealer sales were strong... [and we] could not have been happier."  Note from Intrigue: those traffic figures are three times larger than that of another prestigious fair that took place at Fort Mason recently.

5/22/10 Jack Ven Heile, principal of Triangle Gallery, the oldest surviving contemporary gallery, and the oldest dealer in the city (92!) collapsed while hiking at Point Reyes and was hospitalized after surgery for colon cancer and a bad heart valve.  He is OK for now but the gallery has closed while he has moved to assisted living.  http://www.triangle-sf.com/jack.html  Scroll to bottom of page for latest update

5/21/10 Hilary Pecis - jumped from Triple Base to Guerrero Gallery?

5/20/10 San Francisco Fine Art Fair opening night felt full and lively.  Reception for Ruth Braunstein a little awkward.  Fair organizers had tucked the chairs and mic/speakers in a storage area of the very back area of the warehouse.  Marna Clark, Ruth's daughter, remedied the situation by moving the chairs out into a bar/lounge area, but the speakers were for a much smaller space so no one could hear.  Luis R. Cancel couldn't give the keynote speech because his plane was delayed; Jill Manton gave a lovely speech in his place.  Notables who came to honor Ruth included Diana Fuller, Tim Newman, Jeremy Stone, and Cissie Swig, who spontaneously pledged $10,000 to ArtCare in Ruth's name.

5/19/10 Bessie Kunath is on her way to UCSB for grad school (congrats!) and her Exhibition Preparator position at Creativity Explored is available.   

5/18/10 Queens Nails and Evergold are collaborating.  Peace.

5/17/10 Steven Wolf getting close to announcing the new location for his gallery.  Exact coordinates not yet available, but let's just say that the Mission gallery walk that involves SOEX-Eleanor Harwood-Triple Base-Precita Eyes will have more to offer soon!

5/11/10 Snaps to Eleanor Harwood for responding via eblast to a negative review of Kyle Knobel's show called "High Life" (closing May 15) in Art Practical by photographers Peter Dobie and Katie Humphries: "The result resembles a series of sixth grade notebook doodles, but without the earnestness.  It is this apparent lack of sincerity that we find so problematic."  Maybe this is just what can happen when photographers write about drawings.  This collector thinks Knobel's drawings are New Yorker-worthy.

5/10/10 SFMOMA SECA finalists revealed to membership tonight.  Names are top secret until fat and thin envelopes arrive in the mail next week.   If you are a multimedia artist with a heavy conceptual/performance/process-oriented practice AND you make videos, your chances are good!

5/9/10 Elizabeth Sheets, SFAI Director of Advancement and Alumni Relations is going back to SFMOMA as the Special Assistant to the Chair of the Board (Chuck) and Director (Neal).  WOW!

5/8/10 Is the Murphy Cadogan Fellowship losing its funding?  Word is that the San Francisco Foundation will no longer bankroll the prize and companion exhibition at the SFAC Gallery.

5/7/10 Spotted in NYC this weekend- Triple Base gals Joyce Grimm and Dina Pugh at the Whitney Biennial and Greg Lind at the New Museum.  

5/6/10 Amy Franceschini is one of 180 2010 Guggenheim Fellows, selected from a pool of 3,000 applicants.

5/5/10 Due to budget cuts by the City of Walnut Creek, Ann Trinca's position at Bedford Gallery has been reduced. She is looking for part-time or full-time work in a nonprofit arts organization or as a freelance consultant. Her specialty is marketing/ outreach but herbackground has exposed her to all areas of arts administration including fundraising, curating, marketing, programming, and education.

5/4/10 Happy to see that Headlands got Stephanie Breitbard involved as a host for the June 2 benefit art auction.

5/3/10 The San Francisco Art Dealers Association has a new executive director!  Many of you may remember Jennifer from her time working for Ruth Braunstein during Bruanstein/Quay Gallery’s transition to its current location and then later as the founder of Gately Art Advisory. Since then she has taken on several challenging leadership roles including Director of Visual Arts at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts where she curated numerous contemporary art exhibitions and related programming and also served as Director of the nationally ranked Sun Valley Center Arts & Crafts Festival. Most recently Gately was honored as the first ever Curator of Northwest Art at the Portland Art Museum where she initiated the APEX series, a solo exhibition series dedicated to contemporary Northwest artists, and also transitioned the Museum’s long standing Oregon Biennial to the Contemporary Northwest Art Awards with the intention to draw greater national attention to the art of the region by honoring both emerging and established talent with a museum exhibition, catalog, and cash award.  Welcome, Jennifer! 

5/2/10 The stunning home of collectors Rich and Lenore Niles was featured (without attribution) in the New York Times Sunday Bay Area section.  The Niles's collection is focused on emerging and established women artists. 

5/1/10 Spotted at Mills College MFA graduate exhibition: collector Bob Shimshak, Glenn Helfand.

4/30/10 Walk into Nick Mann's installation up at Needles + Pens through May 9 and you'll feel dejavu for Monica Canilao's epic show at Luggage Store (with Swoon).  Both Mann and Canilao are CCA grads who live off the grid.

4/29/10 Oakland Museum "members and insiders" night for the grand reopening!  Spotted in the galleries:  Peter Selz, Mark Van Proyen, Kimberly Johannson, and one very proud Rene de Guzman.  The new museum is fabulous- whatever you do don't miss the California history galleries on the lower level.   

4/28/10 SFAI alums Nicole Buffet and Ryan Coffey both spoke about their work up at Ever Gold Gallery (owned by 2 SFAI grads).  Lots of good art talk but hard to compete with Ryan's chest, prominently framed by a plunging unbuttoned shirt.   

4/27/10 The sold-out MAC "Art Sandwiched In" lecture organized by Tracy Bosworth Bosche was an outstanding success.  Neal Benezra, Bob Fisher and Gary Garrels talked for 90 minutes about the three year journey that brought the Fisher Collection to SFMOMA.  This was the first time outside a board of trustees meeting that any of this information was discussed or shared.  SFMOMA did record the event for the museum's archives.  Some nuggets:  Art Gensler's work to bring a visual representation of the Fisher Collection in the SFMOMA galleries went a long way in convincing Don to give the collection to SFMOMA...  The long term loan of the collection that began with 10 years, then increased to 25, then 50, is not set at 100 years.  All parties want to avoid anything remotely like what happened to the Barnes Collection...  And Bob said in a very funny candid moment "I was secretly rooting equally for SFMOMA to get the collection ['against' the Fishers' dream of CAMP in the Presidio] because I didn't want to run the museum for my parents after they were gone."  Spotted in the audience, Fisher Collection manager Laura Satersmoen, Don's great-nephew Alex Fisher, John Bergrgruen accompanied by JBG director Tatem Read, and Sabrina Buell. 

4/20/10 SFMOMA symposium "Is Photography Over?" on Thursday, April 22 and Friday, April 23 with Participants include Vince Aletti, George Baker, Walead Beshty, Jennifer Blessing, Charlotte Cotton, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Geoff Dyer, Peter Galassi, Corey Keller, Douglas Nickel, Trevor Paglen, Blake Stimson, and Joel Snyder is SOLD OUT.   There are a few seats reserved in the Schwab room for an "overflow simulcast."

4/19/10 SFMOMA's Art Sandwiched In lecture New Partnerships: SFMOMA and the Fisher Collection on Tuesday, April 27 is SOLD OUT-  wait list growing now.

4/12/10  Wesley Carl Zavattero was born April 8, 2010 at 5:19 am in La Mesa, California, a bit east of San Diego.  He is 20 inches and 10 pounds! He is healthy and happy and Heather and Steve are over the moon.

4/11/10 Fatal shooting outside 111 Minna.

4/8/10 Tanya Zimbardo was a ringer to curate Streets of San Francisco: Filmic Journeys, screened last night at SFMOMA as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations.  The assistant curator of media arts revealed in her opening remarks that she grew up on the curvy block of Lombard, and lived for a while on Macondray Lane.  

4/6/10 After 7 years at 49 Geary, Steven Wolf is letting his lease lapse and will be looking for new exhibition space.  

3/30/10 Kerri Johnson has closed Blankspace (on San Pablo in OAK) and is now focusing her time on the newly named Branch Gallery located at the BayVAN offices.

3/25/10 Breaking news- John Fisher will be joining director Neal Benezra and senior curator Gary Garrels on the SFMOMA MAC "Art Sandwiched In" panel about his father's legacy and the collection that he donated (well, loaned for 50 years) to SFMOMA.  Buy your ticket before they sell out!

3/24/10 BIG SALE!  Triple Base flat files sale one day only Saturday, March 27, 12-8pm.  All works will be priced from $100-$500 -- up to 50% discounts. Don't miss out!  Including work by: Alissa Anderson, Marty Anderson, Chi Birmingham, Michelle Blade, James Bradley, Todd Bura, Michael Cappabianca, Shashanna Chittle, Serena Cole, Alika Cooper, Matt Furie, Bryson Gill, Jason Kalogiros, Rachel Kaye, Justin Limoges, Leigh McCarthy, Kyle Mock, Jay Nelson, Kelly Ording, Christine Shields, Peter Stegall, Andrew Tosiello, Paul Urich and David Wilson. 

3/23/10 Nomination letters for the 2010 SFMOMA SECA Art Award arrived in home last weekend.  A (record?) 270 letters were mailed.  Now curators Apsara DiQunzio and Tanya Zimbardo begin theheady process of culling down the noms to around 30 finalists.  THOSE letters mail late May.

3/22/10 More expensive vertical half page ads on pages A9 and A10 of the Chronicle taken out by the Academy of Art announcing new hires: Brad Hughes, Director for the School for Visual Media; and Christopher Schenk, director for the School of Game Design.

3/21/10 Personal news: I have resigned my post as executive director of the San Francisco Art Dealers Association.  My day job at Gap Inc/Old Navy is going strong, and I just do not have the 10-12 hours per week to dedicate to SFADA anymore.  If you are interested in applying for the part-time position, check out the listing on craigslist and send your resume and cover letter to info@sfada[dot]com by March 31.  http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/med/1620843935.html

3/20/2010 More exciting ED appointments.  Headlands Center for the Arts has announced the appointment of sharon maidenberg as Executive Director.  As the fourth Director in the organization's 28-year history, Maidenberg has served as Acting Director since September 2008.

3/19/10 Big news- ArtSpan has a new executive director!  The new ED is a BRILLIANT hire- Heather Holt Villyard, current SFMOMA Donor Services and SECA Coordinator.  Heather is also on the Advisory Board of the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery and recently opened her own curatorial space in her Noe Valley home.  She's a whiz at large scale events planning and was instrumental in the 75th Anniversary party and the SFAC Passport event last year.

3/18/10 Ali Gass, assistant curator of painting and sculpture at SFMOMA, was named by the New York Times today as one of "nine standing out" among their peers- in other words, a hot young curator to watch.  

3/17/10  Baer Ridgway Exhibitions just announced their first solo exhibition with conceptual artist Rebecca Goldfarb. Goldfarb has recently been granted a residency at Kala Art Institute and recognized as a finalist for awards funded by Artadia and James D. Phelan. Her work has been exhibited at various galleries and venues, including Todd Hosfelt Gallery, Steven Wolf Fine Arts, Lincart and Queens Nails Annex, among others.  Hope this is a permanent home for her!

3/16/10 SFAC's popular Art in Storefronts moves to Chinatown next.  Applications due April 16.  

3/8/10 Big expensive ad placed in the Chronicle today by the Academy of Art announcing their new Director of Education, KD Kurutz.  Most recently, Kurutz was curator of education at the Crocker and has 35 years' experience in the field.  

3/6/10 Private collections featured in the annual Spring Art Tours (April 22, 2010) benefiting Enterprise for High School Students have been announced!  Sabrina Buell, Chara Schreyer, Barry Brimmell/Timpthy Thiel, Jeff Dauber, John & Grethen Berggruen, Orlando Diaz Acuny/John Capo, Lorna Meyer, Trish Bransten, Rena Bransten, Robert T. Wall Family Collection. $500 ticket includes first choice collection visit and the after party at the brand newHackett|Mill exhibition space in the Prada Building.  $100 assures one of your top three collection choices 

3/5/10 Save the date!  Very cool preview party/fundraiser planned for SFAI 's Vernissage this year.  Thursday May 13 will be a ticketed event.  Not a stuffy - er- traditional thing- instead of a sit down dinner party, patrons will walk through the MFA graduate show with star curators from around the Bay Area who are donating their time.  So far a big crew from SFMOMA has confirmed: Gary Garrels (wow!), Dominic Willsdon, John Zarobell, Apsara DiQuinzio, and Rudolf Frieling!  Can't wait to hear who else will participate!  Invitations will mail in a few weeks.

3/4/10 ArtSpan, the group that sponsors Open Studios, is close to announcing the name of its new executive director...

3/3/10 Former White Walls gallery manager Andres Guerrero has launched his own space, Guerrero Gallery.  Grand opening reception this Sat. 

3/2/10 Daniel Nevers, whose work is the best thing in Headlands' Front + Center exhibition (curated by Vanessa Blaikie and Joey Piziali of Ping Pong Gallery and independent curator Jessica Brier, has made the decision to become a certified life coach to support his art practice.

3/1/10 Cain Schulte Gallery has reopened at 251 Post Street.  In the meantime their Mission location is by appointment only while theyprepare for the move and Art Chicago at the beginning of May.

2/27/10 Jack Hanley may be closing his San Francisco gallery to focus his attentions exclusively on his New York location.

2/24/10 Art job available!  A New Leaf Gallery in Sonoma is seeking a new director.  Interested candidates should contact principal Brigitte Micmacker. 

2/23/10 The legendary Kathan Brown put a MAC member in her place today at Art Sandwiched In when she was asked "If an aritst works on a textured surface like silk, do you make an effort to pick up that distinctive quality in the print?"  "Maybe you didn't hear me clearly earlier, we do not make reproductions.  Prints.  Are.  Originals."  Printmaking at the Heart of the Creative Process was organized by Tracy Bosworth Bosche and moderated by Janet Bishop, who earned her stripes in the in the print room at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University from 1984–85.  Buy your ticket now for the next Sandwiched event, New Partnerships: SFMOMA and the Fisher Collection.  It WILL sell out. 

2/21/10 Art job available!  San Francisco-based Collectorsweekly.com, a resources for collectors and people who love antiques and vintage items, is hiring.  The position is marketing evangelist.  Responsibilities include online marketing, PR, marketing communications, grassroots 1/1 marketing, developing influencer relationships, market research + product development.  Contact Dave Marguiles, Publisher This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

2/19/10 di Rosa announced the artists in the MFA SELECTIONS exhibition.  Artists include Joanne Hashitani, Leigh Merrill, Sandra Ono, Gina Tuzzi and Andrew  Witrak from Mills College; Carina Baumann and S. Patricia Patterson from San Francisco Art Institute; Jina  Valentine from Stanford University; Aaron Maietta-Dehaven from UC Berkeley; Josh  Short from UC Davis. This year’s jury included Packard Jennings, who is represented in the di Rosa collection; Kimberly Johansson of Johansson Projects; and Griff Williams of Gallery 16.

2/18/10 The upcoming exhibition at John Berggruen Gallery was curated by JBG registrar Nicole Archibeque and includes several works that are in private collections and have rarely been exhibited. Artists on view include: Robert Bechtle, Ed Ruscha, Wayne Thiebaud, Zoe Crosher, Dave Muller, Jonas Wood.

2/16/10 The Presidio Trust is considering commissioning another Andy Goldsworthy installation. 

2/15/10 Joe Rodota, SFMOMA SECA member and former chair of the Center for Contemporary Art in Sacramento, has been named a trustee of the Crocker Art Museum.

2/14/10 Did you get a Valentine from Dave Eggers?  You did if you're on Electric Works' exclusive mailing list.  250 collectors received a print of a boar and the large caption "LET'S LOVE EACHOTHER AS IF    WE LOVED EACHOTHER." Dave will have a solo show at EW in July and the V-Day print comes from a new Chronicle Books publication by Dave.  (Writing-> visual art crossover is all in the family- Dave's wife, writer (and San Francisco native) Vendela Vida is featured in the SFMOMA 75th Anniversary poster campaign.)

2/13/10 Ravin Agrawal, who together with his wife Alka is an active member of SFMOMA's SECA and MAC, spoke at the prestigious TED (Technology, Art & Design) conference last November about ten young Indian artists to watch.  Click here to watch the video here. The Agrawals recently donated a piece by Indian artist Ranjani Shettar for the museum's new roof garden. 

2/11/10 Headlands Center for the Arts' 2010 artists in residence are getting ready to move into their studios!  Visual arts artists from CA are Nate Boyce (who dates Leslie Shows), Tucker Nichols, Paolo Salvagione, and Hadi Tabatabai (who was a Headlands affiliate artist for years).  

2/8/10 SECA Award nomination requests arrived in home over the weekend signed by the Council Co-Chairs, collectors Alka Agrawal & Daniel Lucas, and the two assistant curators who will be judging the award.  Only members of SECA and select arts professionals are invited to make nominations.  Criteria include: Artists working in all media will be considered including hybrid, digital, video, sounds, and film installation (a departure from years past); Artist must be working in the Bay Area and accessible for studio visits locally; Artist must not have been accorded substatial recognition by a major institution; Artists must be out of school and working independently at the time of the award; SECA members and SFMOMA employees are not eligible for the award.  The prize?  A well-publicized SFMOMA group show with fellow winners in 2011.  Join by by March 1, 2010 ($750) and you too can nominate up to five artists.  Contact Heather Holt, SFMOMA SECA Award Coordinator for more information ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

2/7/10 Ping Pong Gallery has just become a member of NADA, the presitigious New Art Dealers Alliance.

2/6/10 Catharine Clark announced today that she has opened a New York exhibition space, 14th Street Studio, at 313 W 14th Street in Chelsea.  THe inaugural exhibition, "The Drawing Room," coincides with The Armory Show and PULSE New York.  Works on paper by Ray Beldner, Adam Chapman, Anthony Discenza, Kara Maria, Jonathan Solo, Josephine Taylor, and Masami Teraoka. 

2/5/10 Chandra Cerrito celebrated the first night in her new location last night at Oakland's First Friday Art Murmur.  Located down the block from Johannson Projects, CCG is in the charming old brick building that used to be Estaban Sabar Gallery. She's blown out the walls that confined the art to a rabbit warren of small spaces, and created a beautiful interior.

2/4/10 SFMOMA announced today that its agreement with the Fisher family to house their unparalleled art collection will be extended from 25 to 100 years. The Fisher Collection will be on display in a new wing that will be built as part of SFMOMA's expansion. The museum is launching an international search to select an architect to design the expansion.

2/3/10 75% off GOB (going out of business) sale at Pearl Paint @ 969 Market Street.   Pearl is closing 8 of its 16 locations so this is not a comment on the health of the Mid-Market corridor.  Especially since Blick will be going in 2 doors down this summer. 

2/2/10 Save the date postcards for the SFMOMA 75th birthday bash arrived in-home today.  The postcard was printed before details were finalized, because there's no info other than "Save the date 5.14.10" and visit www.sfmoma.org/birthdayparty for more info.  A call to 415.618.3290 reveals that individual tickets to the 6pm rooftop dinner are $1,000; and the great unwashed will arrive at 9pm for the $125/$150 (members/non-members) ground floor after-party.

2/1/10 A cry for help went out at 4pm today from Lex Leifheit, Executive Director of SOMArts , begging the community to attend the San Francisco Arts Commission meeting already in progress.  The city's six cultural centers funded by the SFAC were item #6 on the chopping block.  SOMArts alone was slated to lose $104,000 in addition to the $28,000 cut already from that organizations budget.  That money is the equivalent of 89% of the entire cost of the Main Gallery Exhibitions & Programs which showed over 1,041 Bay Area visual artists in 2009; half of the total grant support that allows SOMArts to provide below-market events space and production assistance; 66% of the direct expenses for Technical Services; and more than the entire cost of the Day of the Dead Festival, Classes, and Fiscal Sponsorship programs combined.  Hope the news is good.

1/31/10 Looking for a Valentine?  Tucker Nichols wants to get into your pants.  Tucker has collaborated with underwear manufacturers PACT  to provide the designs for Classics 2.0, its line of premium organic cotton briefs.  The collection consists of the artist's signature hand-of-the-artist doodles: the slightly off-kilter polka dots have universal appeal, and the vertical stripes will be a make-do substitute for those who longed for a sheet of wallpaper in the last Gallery 16 show.  

1/29/10 Kim Furuta Wessler took on the newly created role of Contemporary Art Program Associate at the Asian Art Museum, reporting directly to director Jay Xu.  Kudos to Kim.  What an honor to be chosen to help the venerable museum build its contemporary art program from scratch.

1/28/10 Friends of Viola Frey (1993-2004) flocked to NYC last week to attend the opening of her traveling retrospective "Bigger, Better, More" at the Museum of Art & Design.   Viola's friends were her family, and the parties definitely felt like family reunions.  The gang attended a private reception hosted by Artists' Legacy Foundation at Nancy Hoffman Gallery, then met again at MAD for opening night festivities.   All the trustess of ALF flew in from CA: Squeak Carnwath, President; Steven H. Oliver, Vice President; Gary Knecht, Secretary/Treasurer; Sanford Hirsch; Leah Levy; Russell Panczenko; and Sandra Shannonhouse; plus independent curator Marcia Tanner, Trish Bransten and Sam Perry, Viola's studio assistant for 17 years.    

1/20/10 Southern Exposure has announced the recipients of grants in Round III of Alternative Exposure. In this round SOEX (with major support from the Andy Warhol Foundation) awarded $60,000 to 17 projects including Adobe Books Backroom Gallery, Art Practical, Happenstand, and THE THING Quarterly.  Alternative Exposure takes care of entities that are not eligible for traditional grants including unincorporated groups, burgeoning art and gathering spaces, publications, websites, collectives, and events.  Click here for full descriptions of the funded projects.

1/18/20 From Stark Guide correspondant Tolu Fadeyi: Happy Birthday, SFMOMA!  Not a day over 75, and looking better than ever, SFMOMA celebrates its January 18thanniversary with 75 Years of Looking Forward.  Get a rare view at the inner workings of this "cultural catalyst", commencing with an anniversary weekend of free admission and special programs, January 16-18.  Need a reason to brave the masses this weekend?  75 stars from the Bay Area creative community (including artists, designers, educators, architects, authors, and SFMOMA curators) will present 75 Reasons to Live, highlighting personally selected artworks from the museum’s permanent collection…in 7.5 minutes.

And this weekend is just the beginning.  With over 400 works from SFMOMA’s private collection, The Anniversary Show highlights SFMOMA’s pivotal role in influencing the trajectory of art history.  It features artists, controversial in their early careers (including Frida Kahlo, Jeff Koons, and Jackson Pollock), whose work SFMOMA was bold enough to celebrate and collect.  What not to miss: handwritten correspondence between founding director, Grace McCann Morley, and ardent critics; photos never before seen by many (not even current Director, Neal Benezra!); Ewan Gibbs: San Francisco (18 newly commissioned, must-see, pencil on paper drawings by the British artist); and Focus on Artists featuring rotating works by artists with whom SFMOMA has fostered close relationships over the years (includes Richard Serra’s Gutter Corner Splash: Night Shift, Richard Diebenkorn’s Ocean Park #54, and Phillip Guston’s For M.).  Yes, it’s a lot to take in, but no worries, the show runs through January 16, 2011 so you can have your birthday cake and eat it too.

1/16/10 Everyone at the at the SFMOMA 75th anniversary gala last night agreed that the hit of the show was Bruce Conner's "Three Screen Ray" 2006, including Kenneth Baker.  (Note to Kenneth, the images of missles and explosions are not related to war, it's 100% sex.)

1/15/10 Jennifer McCabe, director of the Museum of Craft and Folk Art , is back from maternity leave.  Interim director Natasha Boas Ph.D. will stay on as curator, a newly created position. 

1/14/10 Diana Lynn of Diana Lynn Art Tours is leading local half day art tours in the Bay Area.  She's building her Spring/Summer schedule and looking for ideas and contacts for artist studio visits and public exhibitions- particularly in SF and the East Bay- and taking reservations.  

1/13/10 Congratulations to Freddy Chandra and Stephanie Syjuco, two of 25 artists just announced as recipients of The Joan Mitchell Foundation 2009 Painters & Sculptors Grant. The grants, in the amount of $25,000 each, are given to acknowledge painters and sculptors creating work of exceptional quality.

1/8/10 Eleanor Harwood announced her engagement to her boyfriend of 4 years, a neurosurgeon who loves art!

1/5/10 First gallery to create an iPhone App?  Not who you'd expect.  Available now for free download from www.fraenkelgallery.com, or text "Fraenkel" to 99799 and the app will be sent directly to your phone.