Through May 22 - Clare Rojas: Here We Go at Jessica Silverman
Friday I took the day off work and rode BART for the first time in over a year into the city to run a couple errands and to see this magnificent Clare Rojas show in Jessica Silverman's beautiful new Chinatown gallery space. I have been following Rojas's work for many many years (I also adore her musical alter ego Peggy Honeywell), and the pieces in this solo show were all created in 2020 and 2021. On one level it was just wonderful to see such a creative outpouring as Rojas continues to be influenced by both folk art and abstraction (and to see so many birds in these pieces!), and then I also found myself looking for traces of the pandemic in her work. One large painting called Goddess of the Void depicts a woman kneeling below a massive looming darkness, and it is ambiguous whether she and the field of flowers surrounding her are being sucked into the black hole, or if they are resisting it, or if she is summoning it.
Other things I liked this week:
- Bag Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-Up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House by Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz. I had really enjoyed Maddow's podcast by the same name about Spiro Agnew, and this book expands on her already-awesome reporting with some added details and characters. A fascinating and timely read.
- Yellow Fever by Ng’endo Mukii. The Kenyan filmmaker packs a ton into this mesmerizing short, utilizing movement, animation, and creative editing to explore the impact of The West on African perceptions of beauty.
- During pandemic I've loved popping in on lectures by the various chapters of the California Native Plant Society, and this one From Trails to Gardens from the Santa Clara Valley chapter was particularly inspiring. More native plant gardening means more places for birds and pollinators to hang out!
- And then the Yerba Buena chapter hosted an amazing presentation about coyotes in the Presidio, which will hopefully be available soon on their YouTube channel. I grew up with coyotes literally in my backyard in Southern California and I think they're the absolute greatest, and I'm happy that locals up here are learning how to responsibly coexist with them.
- Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast just published her first book, Crying in H Mart, and watching Bowen Yang interview her virtually for City Arts & Lectures was pure delight. "I get to talk to the iceberg!"
- Then last night I went to the opera at the drive-in! SF Opera is staging Rossini's The Barber of Seville live under the stars at the Marin Center, and I bought a ticket to the simulcast lot and brought sweets from Miette and swayed along to my favorite parts and had a total blast.
- Local restaurant of the week: Guru Curry House. All the curries.