GET OUT THERE! Best Starting Points for Viewing Art in the Bay Area

October 1, 11:25 AMSF Art ExaminerMarisa Nakasone

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I promise you won't see c**p like this.  Unless it is ironic.

Best Starting Points for Viewing Art in Bay Area

I had a difficult time deciding upon the "best" of anything art related in the SF Bay Area, simply because the art community is very large and diverse--and I am still trying to take it all in.  Furthermore, I don't feel that I am in the place to describe the best bay area artists, living or dead, simply because there are so many that I like and/or can recognize their value (perhaps in the future i'll profile some notable bay area artists for this examiner page). 

That being said, in my humble opinion, here are the best "starting points" for exploring bay area art.  I can guarantee you will NOT see any Thomas Kinkade, Wyland, or unicorns under a misty rainbow (not without irony, that is):

Large Institutions (Prestigious collections, featuring international and local artists, excellent public programs/community outreach):

1) SF MOMA

2) Asian Art Museum

3) Berkeley Museum

4) Cantor Arts Center @ Stanford University

5) Oakland Museum

6) San Jose Museum of Art

7) Museum of the African Diaspora

8) Fine Art Museums of San Francisco: The Legion of Honor, De Young

Other Venues (Featuring new and upcoming artists, community defined and/or oriented):

1) Cartoon Art Museum

2) Femina Potens:  The city's gallery dedicated to art work and artists that address the GLBTQ community.

3) Giant Robot:  Offshoot from the original LA Gallery and Zine dedicated toward examining popular culture and Asian American cultural studies. 

4) Mission Cultural Center: Founded by artists and community leaders seeking to promote and celebrate Latino arts and culture.

5) Institute of Contemporary Art: Located in San Jose, the Institute of Contemporary Art features the work of bay area artists as well as hosting shows for recent MFA grads. Best place to see fresh faces and ideas.  Also a leader in revitalizing the arts community in the south bay.

6) White Walls Gallery:  Come here to see feel the pulse of what is going on in the underground/urban art scene.

7) DeSaisset Museum:  Located on the Santa Clara University campus, the musuem not only features a section dedicated to California history as well as history of the historic mission (also on campus), but also features excellent contemporary exhibitions featuring artists both locally and abroad and also has a great permanent collection that has a significant amount of work by artists of color. 

*If any of you have suggestions, please let me know!