Highlights from The San Francisco Art Fair

Gordon Smedt, Mountaint, Oil on Canvas 72 x 80 in.

by Michael Accorsi

The San Francisco Art Fair surprised art lovers with one of the art events of the year on the waterfront piers of Fort Mason jutting out between Alcatraz Island and the breathtaking vista of The Golden Gate. The fair pleased the Northern California art enthusiasts with well over 68 local, national, and international art galleries exhibiting their finest work.  Founder and Executive Director, Rick Friedman’s vision to create and host a first rate art event in San Francisco delivered an invigorating statement that the art industry is vibrant in Northern California.

SF Art Fair, photo by Michael Accorsi

The show at Fort Mason was held in conjuction with shows at ArtHaus on Brannan Street and the San Francisco Academy of Art.  The fair’s main exhibit Anything Goes: The Whit and Whizdumb of William T. Wiley proudly displayed the riveting work of art veteran William T. Wiley,  curated by SF based curator DeWitt Cheng. Additional events on Saturday focused on the music, art, and dance of Chinese culture with events showcased throughout the day.

William T. Wiley exhibit, photo by Michael Accorsi.

With seemingly thousands of noteworthy pieces of art, here are some of the standout exhibits by galleries at this year’s fair:

Christian Hohmann Fine Art exhibited work, photo by Michael Accorsi

Christian Hohmann Fine Art gallery in Palm Desert exhibited spectacular large paintings by Croatian artist Zivana Gojanovic pictured below.

 Zivana Gojanovic, Figure K9, 2011, Oil on Canvas, 48 x 48 in.

Hohmann’s display also presented the abstract figurative paintings of Bay Area painter Michael Azgour. Be sure to visit the Christian Hohmann gallery to puruse the brilliant work of Eberhard Hueckstaedt.

SF Art Fair, photo by Michael Accorsi

British Columbia gallery, Realism Fine Art Gallery presented spectacular figurative work by renowned artists such as: Malkolm T. Liepke, Nikolai Blokhim, Alexander Sherversky, Sorin Sorin, Nadia Lozano, Zin Lim, Andrei Belichenko, Alexei Veilikjanin, Vladmir, Goncharuk, Tamara Korako.

Stephanie Breitbard Gallery Exhibit, photo by Michael Accorsi

Mill Valley, California gallerist Stephanie Breitbard displayed the bold and gripping work of Jylian Gustlin and Paule Dubois Dupuis.

The Studio Shop Exhibit, photo by Michael Accorsi

Perhaps the surprise gallery of the day for me was The Studio Shop out of Burlingame, California. Managing Partner, Janet Martin was engaging and enthusiastic about the beautiful work of painter Melinda Cootsona.

Montse Valdes, 3-3-12, Oil on canvas, 58 x 58 in.

Breathtaking work from Villa del Artes Galleries from Barcelona, Spain (pictured above) stood out among some of the top international galleries.  The delicate, yet textured full-sized portraits spoke of Valdes’ sophistication and technicality as an artist.

Westwood Modern Gallery Exhibit, photo by Michael Accorsi

Carmel’s Westbrook Modern Gallery showcased the powerfully textured paintings of Dennis Hare, pictured above and below.

Westwood Modern’s Dennis Hare paintings photo by Michael Accorsi

When the day was done, the gallery I revisited and one of the many that left enthusiasts buzzing was Hamamjian Modern of San Francisco.  Paintings by Gordon Smedt and Douglas Andelin filled their display as onlookers gazed and the fantastic contemporary samples of modern art.

Hamamjian Modern’s Exhibit photo by Michael Accorsi

Congratulations to Rick Friedman, the San Francisco Art Commission, and the dozens of sponsors and participating galleries that made this year’s event a remarkable success.

For a list of participating galleries and sponsoring agencies, please visit the San Francisco Art Fair.  Also find participating galleries at the ArtHaus show.

Please share my video highlights of the SF Art fair with your art and Facebook friends.

Michael Accorsi is an artist, painter working from his studio in Northern California. He writes about art on his blog Plotlines Art Journal. Connect with Michael on Facebook and Twitter as well.