It might be the lingering effects of champagne, but it has been extra difficult culling January’s visual arts offerings down into a tidy list of five.
The end of the month is particularly packed. First, you have an exhibition at the California Historical Society focused on Anna and Lawrence Halprin’s experimental workshops of the late 1960s. Then you have a new addition to the Contemporary Jewish Museum’s inventive Havruta series. Following up that is a culminating exhibition from the latest round of residencies at Recology. And it all ends with the opening of the reunited Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive on Jan. 31.
There’s no better way to embrace the promise of a new year by filling your eyes, ears and minds with art. So shake off that holiday lethargy, mark up your brand new calendars and make good on your resolutions.
David Ireland Bonanza
500 Capp Street, Southern Exposure, San Francisco Art Institute and Anglim Gilbert Gallery
Starts Jan. 14
500 Capp Street isn’t just the house where conceptual artist David Ireland lived for 30 years — it’s a piece of art. The home, its walls, ceilings, floors, contents (and even support beams) were fair game for Ireland’s practice. Starting Jan. 15 the house opens its doors as a private museum, providing ticketed tours of the two-story Victorian, rotating exhibitions, public events, a study center and residency program. Tickets $15-$20 and going fast!
And if that’s not exciting enough, this month institutions across the city join in celebrating all things David Ireland. Coinciding with 500 Capp Street’s opening events, Southern Exposure commissions three new works by a younger generation of artists for 6 Block Scores, 12-6pm on Jan. 16. Inspired by Ireland’s repetitive processes and humble materials, Haegen Crosby, Kari Marboe and Minji Sohn’s performances connect the past and present between the physical space of the two institutions. FREE!
