
Courtesy of Kronos Quartet
Through February 14 - Kronos at 40: Instruments from the Collection at The Thing Quarterly. They might have a new space in the Tenderloin (right next to Ever Gold!), but I'm happy to report The Thing Quarterly's tradition of displaying collections on Luke Bartels's beautiful shelves continues with this exhibition pulled from the archives of Kronos Quartet. As one would expect from Kronos their definition of musical instrument is fantastically inclusive: "Spoiler Alert: a stuffed hamster toy sings, 'I want to be a cowboy.'"

Terry Berlier
Through February 15 - Terry Berlier: Erased Loop Random Walk at the San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art. Well worth the drive down to Silicon Valley, Berlier's art melds the analog and the technological in delightful ways. That contraption pictured above is actually a playable instrument, and also don't miss the piece in the back hallway, I would not change it, that is a heartfelt tribute to her great aunt Ceil.

Genevieve Quick
Through February 16 - Genevieve Quick: Vertical Vistas at Royal NoneSuch Gallery. A fave local artist at a fave Oakland gallery. Quick does nothing less than completely subvert traditional representations of landscape by rendering them vertical instead of horizontal. As an added treat the exhibition includes documentation of every aspect of her process, including the "Vertigraphy" apparatus she used to create some of her images. Her chosen location of Death Valley made the show extra-resonant for me too, as I've spent much quality time there myself. It's a place that definitely bends space and perspective in magical ways.