Local artists filled the large rooms laughing, catching up and exclaiming over one another’s work at the de Young Open press preview on Wednesday. Works of art hung salon style basked under the adoring gaze of the 883 artists selected for the 2023 ‘Open’. The inaugural show in 2020 resulted in the de Young deciding to declare it a triennial. In a generous curatorial display, the museum sent out an open call to local Bay Area Artists earlier this year. Over 7000 artists submitted. Even with the reduced amount of artists who were accepted, the population of this show is the size of a small town. The curation was ambitious but hung with care and a surprising amount of detail.

The de Young Open 2023” at the de Young Museum,September 2023. Photo by Gary Sexton. Image provided courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

“I think it’s an important show for the Bay Area arts ecosystem – the de Young Open brings viewers who might not know about shows at smaller galleries and introduces them to a huge breadth of local artwork all at once. It’s a seriously inclusive curatorial move.” said Mathilda LaZelle. The de Young will show her film, Vestigial Orbit at the Koret Auditorium on Saturday, September 30.

Still from Vestigial Orbit by Mathilda LaZelle. “Vestigial Orbit is a series of video vignettes where mythological entities perform tasks and speak directly to the viewer. I like to think of it as a rotation of particles pulled by a force of intimate isolation.”

Though there are a large number of paintings, in a diverse array of styles, sculptures, films. Michael Zheng, a well known San Francisco artist, commented “Walking through it, I kept having the awareness of the elitist tendency in many of the artworld players, myself included, who tend to pay attention to a select few artists. The Salon style levels that, although the style also has its own limitations. But the energy that the show creates is undeniable.”

SF Chinatown Self Portrait by Ray Koh.

Up in the corner of one room I have a thrill of pleasure as I spot Birth of Raccoon by Andrea Bergen. I am even more happy to find the artist herself standing under it. If you have not seen this artist’s work, I suggest you do. Fantastical animals in apocolyptic urban landscapes burst out out of their frames. Every inch of these extremely detailed scenes is hand cut paper. Andrea proudly shows me her paper cutting callus on her index finger.

Birth of a Raccoon by Andrea Bergen.

“As a Bay Area Native I’m truly honored to have my work included along with so many talented artists and friends. It’s a joy to see so many familiar names and faces in a place I’ve been visiting since I was a kid.” says Bergen. “I’m grateful to be in the type of show that will keep my parents off my back about getting a “real” job, for the time being at least.” She adds.

Apart From Others by Erin Gallagher.

I meet Andrea Nicolette Gonzales and Austin Boe, a giddy pair of friends from SFAI and CCA respectivly. Gonzales’ work is an incredible combination of body paint and photography.

Belonging by Andrea Nicolette Gonzales.

Boe’s piece is a thoughtful polaroid transfer of the artist’s nipple on a mirrored surface. “Being in the show is an exciting and hopefully a good step towards art institutions promoting and showcasing local living artists, instead of only increasing the value of ones passed.” He tells me.

5’11 Stack #2 by Jean Pettigrew Whelan. “5’11” Stack #2″ depicts a stack of books that have inspired me as an artist. The books I chose are all from my collection over the years from various times in my life.
When I started painting books around 2014, it was an innocent homage to reading and to books that I loved. Who knew that in the subsequent years we would see reminiscences of Nazi book burnings and “Red Scare” propaganda?! I never set out to make political art, but now all of my book paintings are political- nods to text, ideas and to freedom.”

Each room of the exhibit has a theme. Portraits gaze in every direction you can imagine. Painted, beaded, cut paper, collages, faces of found objects and delicate pencil sketches spill across the walls.

Portrait of a Youth through time by Stanislava Chening.

Cityscapes can be found in another room. Urban life is celebrated, despised, romanticized and steeped in nostalgia. The artists saw the same city streets in so many ways.

To Make an End Is to Make a Beginning (I Paint Therefore I Am) by Lauren Jade Szabo.

In the room of landscapes there is a wide range from the expected pastoral scenes to multi-media celebrations of place. I find myself completely drawn in by a small piece by Theo Knox created out of packing tape transfer and charcoal.

Deep Field No. 2 (Red Desert, WY) by Theo Knox.

Quilted fractured images by Denise Oyama Miller, Ellen Bepp and Diana Gates Anderson cause me to stop in my tracks to admire them. The fiber art pieces in the show brought a large range of concepts, despite the smaller number of fiber works in comparison to other mediums.

Property of the U.S. Govt. by Julie Carcione.

Indigenous voices and stories made their way into the narrative of this show. The Way We Lived by Tavi L. Carpenter can be see during the show and all films will be screened on Saturday, September 30 in the Korea Auditorium.

Tamal-liwa Welcoming Our Relative Home a film by Bryan Hewitt in Collaboration with Alliance For Felix Cove. Photo by Vita Hewitt.

Tamal-liwa Welcoming Our Relative Home:

Aquí Estamos|Mission Danzante, SF Carnaval 2023 by Alexa “LexMex” Treviño.

If you are thinking of going, plan to spend a long while here. Or come back a few times. The de Young Open will run until January 7, 2024.

The de Young Open 2023
September 30, 2023 – January 7, 2024
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive
San Francisco

exhibit info here