The San Francisco Bay Area is experiencing something of a cultural crisis. For those of us who have lived here long enough, it’s a comparable collapse to what the community experienced during the first dot-com boom. Galleries and arts nonprofits are closing in handfuls. Museum programming appears to be pandering to the tech bros. Rent is surging. But if the region’s art scene has one strength, it’s coming together when we need solidarity the most. The spring season is evidence of that, with arts organizations doubling down on local art history and reinforcing community. From stories of Bay Area migration to deep dives into local art history and examinations of the region’s ecology, there’s never been a better time to support the Bay Area’s art scene.
Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 151 Third Street, San Francisco, California
May 16–September 13
Orbiting around one of the most recognizable paintings in the museum’s collection, A Modern Scandal revels in the drama of art history. The defining Fauvist painting, Henri Matisse’s “Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat)” (1905), marked a turning point in Modern art and kick-started the Fauvist movement with its unorthodox approach to brushstrokes and color. The exhibition will explore painting’s impact across the 20th century, tracing the way a single work of art can turn the tide.