Past Exhibitions

The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) Galleries celebrates the opening of a new, and greatly expanded 3000-square-foot gallery space in the historic War Memorial Veterans Building with three distinct exhibition projects featuring works by thirteen regional artists. To celebrate the move to this new gallery, the SFAC Galleries initiates a new annual program called ENTER126, featuring a commissioned, site-specific work in the Gallery entryway. The inaugural ENTER126 installation is Coalescence, a collaborative installation by two dynamic Bay Area creatives: architect Annette Jannotta and media artist Olivia Ting. For Coalescence, Jannotta and Ting incorporate building materials from the construction of the gallery as well as video footage depicting the renovated Veterans Building, giving a broader context to the transition from past to present.

The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) Galleries celebrates the opening of a new, and greatly expanded 3000-square-foot gallery space in the historic War Memorial Veterans Building with three distinct exhibition projects featuring works by thirteen regional artists. Do More of What You Love features a selection of Susan’s work, giving a cross-section of her overall practice. From her community advice and inspirational signs to Pep Talk Squad, this exhibition will celebrate Susan’s voice as an artist by presenting images of works from throughout her career. Susan O’Malley centered much of her artistic output on the effects of positive messaging and the myriad complexities of language, offering and soliciting advice and instructions, and how the body relates to various environments ranging from forests to manicured lawns in South Bay suburbs. Susan’s passing at a young age in early 2015 rocked our community to its core. As the SFAC Galleries begins a new chapter, we celebrate both the vibrancy and power of her creativity and the impact she had as an artist, curator, and beautiful spirit.

Golden eagles spread their wings and rise from the ashes at Grove Street. In Gold In Peace, Gold In War, San Francisco-based artist Sarah A. Smith incorporate mythology and iconography to create an installation that comments on today’s economic climate. Using a technique called verre eglomise, French for “gilded glass,” Smith paints two eagles in gold leaf on the windows. The eagles battle and guard their accumulated wealth, while in the background, Smith uses her skills as a scenic painter for film and theater to create a dramatic landscape that depicts the aftermath of a phoenix rising.

Roger Erickson, a Bay Area native, is considered one of the world’s foremost music, fashion and celebrity photographers with his work featured in publications such as Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, Ebony, Esquire Magazine, GQ, Rolling Stone, and Out Magazine. Over the past six years Erickson has created a substantial portfolio of prominent LGBTQ public figures including actors, dancers, writers, musicians, artists, athletes, activists and clergy. In time for the annual PRIDE celebration, the San Francisco Arts Commission Galleries’ Art at City Hall program presents the first-ever major exhibition of Erickson’s work, featuring newly-commissioned portraits of local LGBTQ creatives including Melorra and Melanie Green, James Gobel, Shawna Virago, Michelle Tea, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Jon Ginoli, Lynnee Breedlove, Jewelle Gomez, Sean Dorsey, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, Peaches Christ and many more. In addition to artists, Erickson photographed LGBTQ-proud San Francisco Supervisors Scott Weiner and David Campos in their offices at City Hall.