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Last chance to see incredible art at SF museums this weekend

Catch the final days of big shows by Brown, Diebenkorn, Obata and more famed artists around the city.

A person stands on a vast sandy beach wearing a flowing bright red dress that billows dramatically against a clear blue sky.
“Fire on the Beach” by Dana Scruggs | Courtesy MOAD from “The New Black Vanguard”
By Shelley D. Fargo

On tap for the weekend? Museum weather. It’ll be chilly, partly cloudy and perfect for an afternoon to bask in the glow of fine art.

And now that San Francisco is officially finished with the pandemic, a parade of compelling exhibitions keeps moving through the city, continuing next month with Kehinde Wiley’s show at the de Young.

Catch one—or more—of these eight shows over the holiday weekend before they leave town.

SF Museum Exhibitions That Will Soon Close

A rocky riverside landscape with sparse trees, distant mountains, and dark rain clouds looming over the scene.
"Passing Rain High Sierra U.S.A." by Chiura Obata | Courtesy Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

Bearing Witness: Selected Works by Chiura Obata 

Asian Art Museum through Feb. 27 (opens in new tab) 

See the master’s blend of Japanese techniques and Bay Area subjects, including Obata’s firsthand sketches of the 1906 earthquake and time in an incarceration camp. While you’re there: See Color Trip: (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)Yosida Hodaka’s Modern Prints (opens in new tab).

Visitors at "Bull.Miletic: Proxistant Vision" | Courtesy Museum of Craft and Design

Bull.Miletic: Proxistant Vision

Museum of Craft and Design through March 19  (opens in new tab)

Custom-designed for this exhibition, the Norwegian pair of artists coined the word “proxistant” to explore the influence of aerial imaging. Also this weekend from the museum:  Check out the Mobile MakeArt at Stonestown Farmers Market (opens in new tab) this Sunday, Feb. 19.

Abstract painting with organic shapes and flowing lines in blue, green, brown, and yellow, blending natural forms with geometric patterns.
Christopher Miller's "Passing Through" | The Walt Disney Family Museum

Chris Miller: Kaleidoscope

Walt Disney Family Museum through March 19  (opens in new tab)

Disney’s grandson Chris exhibits his nature-driven, color-saturated painting. While you’re there: See Spirit of the Season: A Community Art Exhibition (opens in new tab).

"The Long Journey" by Joan Brown, 1981 | Courtesy SFMOMA and di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art

Joan Brown

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art through March 12  (opens in new tab)

One of the city’s most beloved artists, Brown tackled the whimsical and the spiritual with equal charm. While you’re there: See Bernd & Hilla Becher (opens in new tab).

A bright, modern museum gallery displays various ceramics and sculptures in glass cases on white pedestals, with large windows and wooden floors.
Bowles Porcelain Gallery at the Legion of Honor | Courtesy Photo

Michelle Erickson: Wild Porcelain

Legion of Honor through April 2  (opens in new tab)

Porcelain enthusiasts must get to the Legion to see Michelle Erickson’s works focused on social and environmental issues. While you’re there: See Sargent and Spain (opens in new tab) and Paperwork: 15 Years of Acquisitions (opens in new tab).

A person stands on a vast sandy beach wearing a flowing bright red dress that billows dramatically against a clear blue sky.
"Fire on the Beach" by Dana Scruggs | Courtesy MOAD from "The New Black Vanguard"

The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion

Museum of the African Diaspora through March 5  (opens in new tab)

Fifteen contemporary fashion photographers share works focused art, beauty and race. While you’re there: See the final days of Ashley Ross 10/27/03 (opens in new tab).

A wooden carved face painted with dark hair, red cheeks, pronounced nose, lips, and black eyebrows against a neutral fabric background.
Marionette head in "Oz Is for Oznowicz" | Contemporary Jewish Museum

Oz Is for Oznowicz: A Puppet Family’s History 

Contemporary Jewish Museum through March 5   (opens in new tab)

From Nazi-occupied Belgium to Oakland, puppeteer Frank Oz continued a family journey as the maker and performer of puppets from Miss Piggy to Yoda. While you’re there: See Gillian Laub: Family Matters (opens in new tab).

Five framed abstract paintings with geometric shapes and bold colors like green, blue, yellow, and red hang on a white gallery wall under track lighting.
Gallery from “Richard Diebenkorn in Color at Crownpoint Press” | Courtesy de Young San Francisco

Richard Diebenkorn in Color at Crown Point Press

De Young Museum through March 3  (opens in new tab)

As part of Diebenkorn at 100, 20 of the artist’s prints from his color printmaking session in 1980 are on view. While you’re there: See Lhola Amira: Facing the Future (opens in new tab).

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