Woody De Othello, Suné Woods, Edmund de Waal, and More Must See San Francisco Shows

In advance of the “Broken Lines” exhibition, curated by Gallery Wendi Norris, opening tonight at ISAIA’s San Francisco flagship, Whitewall is turning its attention toward other must-see shows in and around the city. The exhibition inaugurates the ISAIA presents “Gallery in Residence” by Whitewall program, an ongoing series that activates the Neopolitan menswear brand’s Frank Lloyd Wright landmark location at 140 Maiden Lane.

While in San Francsico this fall, be sure to check out “Broken Lines” (on view for three months), as well as the shows below.

“Chris Johanson: Ruminations, Meditations, and The Homeostasis” at Altman Siegel
September 6—October 27, 2018
“Ruminations, Meditations, and The Homeostasis” is Chris Johanson’s third solo exhibition at Altman Siegel. The artist is a central figure of San Francisco’s Mission School. His practice includes painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, and music. On view are works that explore spirituality, sociology, and environmental observation. New to his output are paintings on stretched-canvas paintings made from studio drop cloths. Every painting is paired with a chair, inviting viewers to spend time in close observation.

“Suné Woods: This Body Is Alive” at Casemore Kirkeby
September 8—November 17, 2018
“This Body is Alive” is Suné Woods’ first solo show with Casemore Kirkeby. The Los Angeles-based artist mixes photography and collage, audio and video. For the show, Woods created an all-encompassing installation relating water to the body to express humanism as a global resource. A video, Fish Dance, shows the artist in the water swimming with a yellow jack fish—a study of our relationship with other living things. Within the gallery is a carpeted stage, where viewers are encouraged to sit, rest, and even lie down, to experience the work.

“Contemporary Muslim Fashion” at the de Young Museum
September 22, 2018—January 6, 2019
This is the first major museum show to address fashion for Muslim women. Taking a global approach, codes of dress—whether covered or not—from contemporary Muslim life are examined. Subjects of style, identity, religion, and sartorial choice are identified in photos, documentation, news clips, and runway footage. On view are the garments by designers like Malaysia-based Blancheur, London-based Sarah Elenany, and other emerging and established talents.

“Edmund de Waal: the poems of our climate” at Gagosian
September 20—December 8, 2018
On view at Gagosian in San Francisco are new works by Edmund de Waal. The artist has long been fascinated by porcelain. Included in the show are installation of vessels in that same material, displayed in simple structures of black and white. Varying in size, the pieces reveal traces of the hand and their own creation. De Waal is known for including poetry (the title of the show comes from a 1942 Wallace Stevens poem), and on some tiles and shards of porcelain, has written poetic lines.

“Shiva Ahmadi: Burning Song” at Haines Gallery
September 6—October 27, 2018
“Burning Song” is Shiva Ahmadi’s first solo show at Haines Gallery. The Iranian American artist has created a new body of work that is a response to the turmoil of today’s geopolitical climate. On view are paintings, digital animations, and sculptures that address despotic regimes and the horrors of war. Ahmadi uses fantasy and beauty to lure in viewers to the eventual realization of gruesome images—faceless figures, a headless horse, depictions of violence and blood. Contemporary powers that be are referenced in scenes of oil refineries and nuclear power plants. Also on view are new sculptures from the artist’s “Pressure Cooker” series.

“Woody De Othello: Living Room” at Jessica Silverman Gallery
September 13-November 3, 2018
“Living Room” features new ceramic sculptures and paintings on paper by Woody De Othello. As the title of the show suggests, the artist plays with both the home’s central room, and the idea of a room that’s come alive. De Othello explores the space between animate and inanimate (a vase turns into a torso), energy and exhaustion (an ear slumped on a boom box), hospitality and hostility (a jug that’s listening). Each work is made from “slab construction,” a ceramic hand-building technique the artist uses to create objects that create tension in shape and balance.