San Francisco's Best Art

Description:

San Francisco's Asian Art Museum can be best described in one word: staggering. As in, the western world's largest museum solely dedicated to Asian art. As in, a grand building with three floors of displays constituting only a fraction of the museum's full permanent collection. We did say 'staggering.' The Asian Art Museum's second and third floors take visitors on a tour of all regions of the continent dating back thousands of years, with excellent attention to history and culture in the text descriptions accompanying objects. The first-floor special exhibits exclusively feature contemporary Asian art. Located directly across from City Hall, the Asian Art Museum is also a quick walk away from the hip neighborhood of Hayes Valley, chockablock with unique boutiques, great restaurants, and local fave Blue Bottle Coffee.

Description:

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, or SF MoMA, boasts world-class international art installations and is a unique architectural marvel in and of itself. Past special exhibits have included Matthew Barney, Frida Kahlo, Diane Arbus, Claes Oldenburg, and Marc Chagall, just to give you a taste of SF MoMA's diverse coverage of modern and contemporary art-world darlings. The permanent collections are nothing to shake a stick at, either. The painting wing features an array of modern masters, from Magritte to Pollock, and the photography, architecture and design, and media arts wings are full of visual delights. The top floor features awe-inspiring full-room installations (and we really mean FULL room) that are better left experienced rather than spoiled here. SF MoMA also has one of the best gift shops in San Fran. If you feel petered out after wandering through the museum, catch a flick at the SF Metreon entertainment complex, only a block away.

Description:

Renovated in 2005, de Young Museum's ultra-modern design stirred up quite the controversy in San Francisco when it was first reopened. However, locals warmed to the sleek, angular exteriors once they experienced the museum's indoor wonders. Perhaps San Francisco's most eclectic art museum, the de Young features permanent collections of American art, indigenous art and artifacts from around the world (including masks from Oceania, basketry from Africa, and pottery from the Americas), crafts and textiles, and graphic arts. And then there are the rotating special exhibits, which have proven to be the not-to-miss art events of the season, featuring the likes of ancient Egyptian relics or 20th century fashion designer retrospectives.

Description:

An art gallery in which the entertainment and crowd are just as much a part of the effect as anything that might hang on the walls, you will find live music, DJ dancing, performance art, and film among your choices on a given night at this eclectic club. The small, intimate tables are perfect for discussing the art and those individuals who come to look at it. Cover varies.

Description:

San Francisco's Mission District is known for more than just great Mexican food and offbeat dive bars. It is also home to one of the most impressive collections of public murals anywhere. While many are decades old, new murals are constantly being added to the scene by a flourishing group of professional muralists working out of the Precita Eyes muralist collective. This great resource also helps art lovers by preserving and interpreting these fantastic works of public art. Tours given by muralist members of the collective present 75 murals in just 6 blocks. It's a great way to get to know one of San Francisco's richest neighborhoods.

Description:

The colorful mural that covers this building, Maestrapeace, portrays famous women of the last century. Images include Georgia O'Keefe and Audre Lord. Ten San Francisco artists and 80 female volunteers, some of them local schoolchildren, painted this mural in 1994. Not only is this most colorful mural in The City, it is also the largest. It is also, and this almost goes without saying here in the progressive Bay Area, a masterpiece of political correctness done in a disarmingly naive style.

Our Local Expert Says:

You can't beat the combination of world-class exhibitions and a beautiful location atop Lincoln Park.

Description:

This museum houses more than 87,000 paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, and tapestries. Some pieces date back 4,000 years. The main floor is dedicated to the museum's permanent collection, much of which features the works of Rodin. European and ancient art are also on display. The lower garden level features temporary exhibitions, ranging from Andy Warhol to Francis Bacon. Take a break in the museum cafe, which features light snacks and has outdoor seating. The gift shop, though small, has a nice selection of postcards, books, posters, jewelry, and some reproductions from this and other fine arts museums.

Description:

For those of you into craft arts, this is the place to go. This museum has hosted shows of unusual crafts such as funerary sculptures and headstones from around the world. The works range from naif and primitive, to ethereally New Age and cutting edge social commentary. The various craft exhibits explore all sorts of media and cultures. The space is small, but well laid out with excellent lighting and a knowledeable and personable gallery staff.

Description:

Sausalito is a quaint, Mediterranean-style waterfront town that serves as the ideal gateway to outdoors adventures galore in Marin County-or as the perfect après-activity haven. From window-shopping at eclectic boutiques to grabbing some scoops at Lappert's Ice Cream and savoring them by a Spanish-style fountain in the sun-splashed plaza, Sausalito certainly has its charms, not to mention its fair share of top-notch dining. And then there are Sausalito's views of San Francisco twinkling across the bay and the surrounding Marin hills dotted with gorgeous homes. Sausalito is also home to a vibrant community of artists, who open their galleries and studios on the second Wednesday of every month during an Artwalk in the Caledonia Street neighborhood. In addition, the renowned Sausalito Art Festival takes place in the center of town every Labor Day weekend.

Our Local Expert Says:

San Francisco's Premier Public Art space

Description:

Fine and performing arts are the focus of the Yerba Buena Center, which includes art galleries, a movie theater, a theater for live performances, and a beautifully landscaped garden with striking fountains. Take time to visit the one dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. that invites strollers to walk behind a waterfall as they contemplate quotations from both him and other assassinated leaders of the Civil Rights movement. Music and theater groups perform among the five and one-half acres of rolling gardens during lunch from May through September. Concurrent with exhibits are informative lectures and seminars, poetry workshops, and resident artist programs.

Description:

Works by established artists and students are exhibited here. Subjects range from different artistic interpretations of the traditional tzedakah box to the Holocaust's non-Jewish victims to seasonal holiday exhibits of menorahs. In its effort to link the Jewish community to mainstream society, the museum often exhibits works that are political and controversial, thus challenging visitors. Educational programs are held in conjunction with current exhibits.