Oakland Museum:
The bilingual exhibition features paintings, prints, movie posters, photographs, sculpture, costumes, masks, and musical instruments. "It's a fascinating hybrid---a visual arts exhibition based on a cultural history," says co-curator Orantes.
Squeak Carnwath: Painting Is No Ordinary ObjectThis presentation of Carnwath’s work—the first organized by a major West Coast museum—includes more than 40 paintings not seen collectively since the artist’s last major exhibition, in 1994.As the title indicates, a painting is “no ordinary object” for Carnwath (American, b. 1947). Her recurring motifs—among them numbers, rabbits, and lists—reflect personal and universal themes; each meticulously applied layer of paint carries meaning and inquiry.
Kenneth Baker's review: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/06/DDCD180GNU.DTL&type=art
Museum of Children’s Art:MOCHA provides hands-on arts learning experiencing for children and their families in our museum, in schools and preschools, and in public venues. MOCHA also prepares educators to teach art and integrate arts learning across academic subject areas. They advocate for the arts as an essential part of a strong, vital and diverse community and emphasize outreach to children in low-income communities that do not typically have wide access to the arts.
African American Museum and Library: The African American Museum and Library at Oakland is dedicated to discover, preserve, interpret and share the historical and cultural experiences of African Americans in California and the West for present and future generations.
AAMLO's archival collection is a unique resource on the history of African Americans in Northern California and the Bay Area. The over 160 collections in the archives contain the diaries of prominent families, pioneers, churches, social and political organizations.
http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/aamlo/
Pardee Home Museum: The Pardee Home, including its carriage house and water tower, is a centerpiece of Oakland's Preservation Park Historic District, within a short walking distance of such downtown landmarks as Old Oakland, City Hall, and Preservation Park
CM Nevis thinks is a classic case of "not in my backyard" but dismisses the very real issues involved. While the collection may be first class, the choice of site was inappropriate. This wasn’t simply a NIMBBY issue; it was a serious problem involving an inaccessible site without public transportation and a building that would have negatively impacted the existing environment. The footprint would have been huge and while the Fisher’s claim that they would donate the money to build it, what about staffing and future upkeep – and who will ultimately own the complex? Reading through the 521 comments at SF Gate was a depressing exercise. Obviously the park and environmental activists have not done a good job in educating the public because most of the comments were hostile and uninformed. This wasn’t a free gift but a 21st century land grab. The complex would have included a 119-room hotel, meeting space, a restaurant and a bar; two new theaters and a heritage center. Who would ultimately have owned all these buildings and who would have ultimately been responsible for their upkeep? Who would get the revenue, if any? The editorial is severely one-sided since Nevius overlooks the fact that building the museum there would have violate the terms of the Presidio Trust. The ultimate decision was made by the federal government, not San Francisco. 
Stein's colorful work, often including birds, rocks, and pedestals, is at first playful and childlike. The pieces grow in complexity with each viewing moment, and I found myself looking at each object, attempting to identify and decipher it. 
One of the strengths of this exhibit is its inclusion of objects from the family, friends and court of Amarna and Tutankhamen. While the golden mask remains in Cairo, being too fragile to travel, the other items give a more comprehensive look at this fascinating period in Egyptian history.
When Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen, several items showed the image of Tutankhamen's Queen. One of the most famous objects is the golden throne, which shows Ankhesenamen standing before her husband. She is apparently anointing the king. Ankhesenamen is shown wearing a short Nubian wig and her regalia consist of a modius consisting of uraei topped with the horned sun disk and the double plumes. The sun disk and plumes associate her with the goddess Hathor. Above them shines the sun disk of the Aton, its rays ending in hands as they bless the royal pair.
Ceremonial Dagger and Sheath: There were two daggers found within the king's mummy wrappings. This one is absolutely extraordinary. It and its sheath are of solid gold and the tiny gold granulations and cloisonne work are remarkable. The sheath is especially an indication of the artistic ability and skill of the goldsmith. (Andreas F. Voegelin / Antikenmuseum Basel)
Chased gold Falcon Collar, representing the Pharaoh's status as the Falcon of Egypt. Of all the gods and goddesses of Egypt, the two best known are probably Isis and Osiris. Osiris was regarded as the oldest and, for a long time, the most important god who lead the Egyptians out of savagery, giving them laws and teaching them how to cultivate the land. He married his sister Isis and ruled with wisdom and benevolence. He was murdered by his jealous brother Set but Isis gathered up the sundered parts (including THAT part) and was able to conceive a son, Horus. Horus, represented by a falcon, defeated his wicked uncle and regained the throne. Henceforth, the king of Egypt was called "The Horus," and the falcon became one of the personal totems of pharaoh.
Viscera Coffin (detail), Dynasty 18, Reign of Tutankhamun 1332-1322 BCE. Photo: Andreas F. Voegelin, Antikenmuseum Basel and Sammlung Ludwig
Thou appearest beautifully on the horizon of heaven, 
Melissa Dinwiddie: XYS Triptych
Songye female figure - embedded with bass pins to signify the desire for a male child
Songye male figure; the beads are a mark of status as is the skirt/kilt made of rare leopard skins.
Chokwe Male Mask, Angola
Other, smaller figures served more personal purposes. Some, like the female figure almost entirely embedded with bass tacks suggested a desire for a male child or perhaps even protection against smallpox, a much feared disease. Other figures and masks glorified the culture’s idea of female beauty or venerated dynastic heroes and founders of the ruling dynasties. The Nkishi were prayers to the spirit world for a healthy birth, a successful hunt, or a triumph over an enemy. In the past, when the figures had served their purpose, many (those not associated with the royal families or the rituals of sacred kingship) were thrown away. This venue gives a much more nuanced and complex view of African art, organized by a knowledgeable Western scholar and without the colonial patina of ignorance and prejudice toward “darkest Africa.”
New piece up at the Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/x-13996-SF-Museum-Examiner~y2009m6d17-Matisse-at-SF-MOMA
“Lords of the Samurai reinforces the Asian Art Museum’s reputation for providing quality exhibitions compromising outstanding artworks that tell remarkable stories,” says Jay Xu, director of the Asian Art Museum. The current exhibit continues the Asian’s remarkable series of stunning exhibits; further cementing its status as a world-class institution. The works displayed come from the collection of the Hokosawa family, one of Japan’s most respected, erudite and long-lived military clans. They strove to embody the ideal characteristics of the warrior elite by pursuing achievements in two areas: culture (bun) and arms (bu).
The current head of this 700-year old family, Hosokawa Morihiro attributes the preservation of their collection to luck. However, a great deal of the credit must also lay in past generations' politically astute choices. There are over 160 objects in the exhibit, seven of which have been designated important Cultural Properties, the highest award given by the Japanese government. None of these objects have been seen outside Japan; the depth and breadth of the collection is spectacular.
The current head of the main family line, Morihiro Hosokawa continues the family's long tradition of interest in the arts. A former Prime Minister of Japan, he is now a noted potter and calligrapher. As a potter, his tea bowls exemplify the Japanese principles of Waba-Sabi, small, earthy and unpretentious, simple but not simplistic.
But the show that just knocked me over was the show comparing the affinities between Georgia O'Keefe and Ansel Adams. Our local art critic had slyly panned O'Keefe for what some other critics saw as the sexual symbolism in her work and for having the burden of being seen as a feminist icon - something which she rejected. However, I fail to see why this means her work is somehow lesser; surely she's not responsible for what the critics say. But, since she is commercially overexposed, I wasn't expecting much. I was wrong. In person, her art is still memorable with startling combinations of size and color, a disciplined painterly technique and a unique artistic sensibility. Even her very smallest works - and there are many in the show - display her emphatic color and delicate brush work combined with striking compositions. The best of her works cross over to abstraction ("that dream thing," as O'Keeffe called it), and then loop back to the figurative, engaging the imagination on many different levels.
In search of the marvelous, she advised Russell Vernon Hunter, "Try to paint your world as though you are the first man looking at it-The wind and the licat-and the cold-The dust-and the vast starlit night ..
D.A. Arts is proud to present the work of the Ujima Artists Collective – four Tenderloin artists making their debut with an eclectic collection of colorful paintings. Ujima is Swahili for “collective work and responsibility,” and the four artists have brought together their diverse talents and cultures for this project. Harvey Rushing, Kenneth Beasley, and Brock Bates have worked together for four years in an art studio at Central City Hospitality House. They have teamed up with Michael Berninger, who works at the Pearl Art & Craft Supplies on Market Street. “One thing that’s very unique about us,” said Beasley, “is that we’re a multicultural band of artists. We bring all the ingredients of our artistic talents into one canvass.” Ujima will host an art gallery opening on Friday, June 12th at 6:00 pm at D.A. Arts, located in a window display gallery at 135 Sixth Street. The paintings are all by self-taught artists, considered "outsider art" in today's art market but their work is anything but crude. The vibrant colors strengthen, not weaken, the powerful cry against historical and political injustice.
Come to Ujima’s art display opening next Friday – and meet the four artists (who are all excited about making their debut) and ask them questions. D.A. Arts is a project of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, to promote the work of local artists in a Sixth Street window display.
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