Introduction | Concerts | Art | Stage | Movies | Sports | Festivals | Outdoors | Wineries
EMPIRE SEVEN
525 N Seventh St, San Jose
In the eight years since Empire Seven Studios opened, the gallery has seen it all: exhibitions with the world’s hottest artists, near-catastrophic fires and, more recently, an effort to make art part of the public dialogue through the San Jose Mural Project. Although not beholden to a single theme, the eight-year anniversary’s ethos is based on the Japanese idea of Shokunin: the lifelong dedication of a craftsmen. Combining the gallery’s huge collection and new works by old contributors, the show becomes both a personal retrospective and, for many, an artistic reunion.
NUMU
106 E Main St, Los Gatos
Barely a year old, NUMU has already established itself as an important art hub in the South Bay. Besides its diverse exhibitions, the spacious Los Gatos museum offers extensive, interactive art education for anyone interested. Thursday “late nights” are usually reserved for conversations and presentations with artists, but the rest of the week includes a mixture of oil painting classes, sculpture workshops and even music production lessons.
Mitchell vs. Steinbeck | Thru Oct 16
In 1936, John Steinbeck famously wrote his novel The Grapes of Wrath whilst living in Los Gatos. Although it’s become an American classic, at publication the backlash was strong—particularly from one of his neighbors, writer Ruth Comfort Mitchell, who wrote the novel Of Human Kindness in response. Using historical documents and even interviews with the book’s adversaries, the show explores the odd and intimate literary duel between the pair in greater historical context.
Et in Arcadia Ego | Jun 2 – Oct 2
The myth of Arcadia, or an unspoiled, natural wilderness has been a persistent theme in art since the Renaissance. This show will be an exploration of that ideal. Nicolas Poussain’s 17th century painting, which inspired the event’s name, serves as the primary inspiration for nearly 20 artists as they explore timeless idea of natural utopias.
Hats Off | Thru Jun 26
An exploration of hats and their historical and artistic significance in society.
Script & Scribble | Thru Oct
An extensive examination of the history of penmanship and its steady decline.
In the Heart of the Wild: Anne Brigman and Her Circle Jul 15 – Jan 8
A personal look at the life of the 19th century Los Gatos resident, poet and photographer.
SAN JOSE MUSEUM OF ART
110 S Market St, San Jose
Life and Labor | Aug 18 – Mar 17
Originally an optometrist with some political rustling, Milton Rogovin became one of the 20th century’s greatest photographers. After being called before the House Un-American Activities Committee during the “Red Scare” of 1957, Rogovin turned to photography for expression. He is best known for The Forgotten Ones, a three decade-long project capturing chronological portraits of families living in an impoverished area of Buffalo, New York.
Maker Space | Thru May 22
A celebration of material defying art at the Koret Family Gallery.
Border Cantos | Thru Jul 31
The photos of Richard Misrach and unique musical creations of Guillermo Galindo explore the undocumented immigrant’s journey.
Tabaimo: Her Room | Thru Aug 21
A magically animated and drawn study of the real and make-believe.
San Jose’s 20th Century Vanguard | Thru Sep 18
A retrospective of the South Bay art scene since the ’60s.
SAN JOSE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART
560 S 1st St, San Jose
Next New Paper | Jun 5 – Sep 18
Examining how a material so common to everyday life is almost forgotten, this exhibition brings together 17 Bay Area artists to work exclusively with one medium: paper. Manipulating pulp to the furthest degree, this show is a panoply of art sculpture and imaginative design.
This is Not a Book: Chapter 2
| Jun 5 – Sep 11
Following with the season’s theme of ordinary objects transformed into art, “This is Not a Book” brings together 25 artists to explore the properties of books, bindings and the pages in between. While technically a sculpture show, the exhibition is a step beyond in terms of composition and creativity.
Looking Between the Covers |
Jun 5 – Sep 4
Like glimpsing down an endless but soothing hallway, Mary Ellen Bartley’s art is a quiet, nuanced representation of the relationship between absence and presence. Using books as her visual subjects, Bartley composes minimalist explorations of patterns, space and size that reverberate in the brain, tickling visual perspectives.
SEEING THINGS GALLERY
751 W San Carlos St, San Jose
Onshore Winds, Offshore Accounts | May 27
A merchant marine by day, Willow Glen-based artist and photographer Martin Machado uses the sites of sea and harbor for inspiration. With a mixture of N.C. Wyeth’s seafaring sensationalism and the line-work of late 19th century political cartoons, Machado creates evocative nautical portraits with an almost linear pointillism.
A Frisby & Lance Cyril Mountain |
Jul 15
Oklahoma- based artist Aaron Frisby paints alluring, even seductive but equally unsettling female portraits. Lance Cyril Mountain—son to legendary skateboarder Lance Mountain—paints conceptual, cubist-like examinations of shape and color. Something of a meeting of minds, the exhibition will present a juxtaposition in styles born out of very similar personalities.
CANTOR ARTS CENTER
328 Lomita Dr, Stanford
California: The Art of Water
| Jul 13 – Nov 28
In light of the state’s (still) severe water crisis, Stanford is exhibiting a collection of paintings and photographs portraying California’s most precious resource. With work from over 70 artists, including Ansel Adams, David Hockney, and Carleton Watkins, the show also features accompany programs to raise awareness for ongoing water issues.
Soulmaker: The Times
of Lewis Hine | May 21
A retrospective on the haunting child labor photographs that made Hine’s reputation.
Myth, Allegory, and Faith | Jun 20
Prints that illustrate the progression between mannerist and baroque styles.
Richard Diebenkorn:
The Sketchbooks Revealed |
Thru Aug 8
More than 1,000 drawings of Diebenkorn that illustrate his styles and growth through half a century.
Edward Hopper: New York Corner |
Aug 8
An artistic historiography of the famous painting using documents and contemporaneous artists.
