The East Bay shines this week with the radiance of good art shows, acting as a nice counterpoint to the SF Fine Art Fair (the first major art fair to take place in the Bay in many years) which is taking over Fort Mason Convention Center this weekend.

We have UC Berkeley's MFA Thesis Show taking over a section of the Berkeley Art Museum, "Groundswell" at Kala Art Institute curated by the YBCA's Betti-Sue Hertz, a Lobot Gallery show curated by undefeatable Ross Campbell, and an artist talk at Important Projects that should be quite revealing.

Meanwhile, in the West Bay (aka San Francisco) we have some choice options as well -- including a screening of James Benning at CCA's Timken Lecture Hall, an artist talk by Clare Rojas at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art, and a good-looking show at Catharine Clark Gallery.
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And, a little reminder to take advantage of our very own VIP reception at the SF Fine Art Fair with Artcards San Francisco Deputy Editor Jason Benson accompanied by BayVAN (Bay Area Visual Arts Network) representatives:

Artcards invites you and a guest to a special private reception
at the San Francisco Fine Art Fair

Saturday, May 22, 4:00-5:00pm
Fort Mason - Festival Pavilion
San Francisco

Please RSVP here to join us for light refreshments,
as well as admission to the Fair for the entire day.

Tuesday:
+ Screening: James Benning "Another Time" a special event to accompany "We have as much time as it takes" at CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts (Kent and Vicki Logan Galleries)

Wednesday:
+ April Banks, Banker White, Favianna Rodriguez, James Reed , Laura Parker, Sergio De La Torre, Suzanne Husky "Let’s Talk of a System" at Intersection for the Arts (Intersection 5M)

Thursday:
+ Screening: "Scandinavian Blue" Book Launch and Screening with Jack Stevenson at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
+ Artist Talk: Clare Rojas "We They, We They" curated by Natasha Boas at The Museum of Craft and Folk Art

Friday:
+ Aliza Rand, Amanda Eicher, Azin Seraj, Becky Suss, Bonnie Begusch, Matt Mullins, Miguel Arzabe "No Right Angles" The 40th Annual University of California, Berkeley Master of Fine Arts Graduate Exhibition at Berkeley Art Museum
+ Lecture: "What’s It All Mean: William T. Wiley in Retrospect," Graduate Student Speaker: Lizzy Ramhorst at Berkeley Art Museum

Saturday:
+ Chester Arnold "Natural Histories: The Crooked Timber and other paintings and drawings" at Catharine Clark Gallery

+ "Lapse" at Lobot Gallery

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Sunday:

+ Artist Talk: Craig Doty "Two Nudes" at Important Projects

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Tuesday, May 18

Alberto Ybarra, Allison Adams , Jessica Schmidt, Matthew Berg, Sue Toorans, Tina Dillman, Vanessa Woods "A Modern Dispresence" at Dalva
Mission District: 3121 16th Street, floor 1, 7-9pm

+ Screening: James Benning "Another Time" a special event to accompany "We have as much time as it takes" at CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts (Kent and Vicki Logan Galleries)
Potrero Hill: 1111 Eighth Street, 7-10pm

Wednesday, May 19

+ April Banks, Banker White, Favianna Rodriguez, James Reed , Laura Parker, Sergio De La Torre, Suzanne Husky "Let’s Talk of a System" at Intersection for the Arts (Intersection 5M)
Downtown: 901 Mission Street, at 5th Street, floor 1, 6-8pm

Screening: "USF Student Film Screening" at A.T.A.
Mission District: 992 Valencia Street, 8pm

Thursday, May 20

+ Screening: "Scandinavian Blue" Book Launch and Screening with Jack Stevenson at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
SOMA: 701 Misssion Street, at Third Street, Screening Room, $8 regular; $6 students, seniors, teachers & YBCA members, 7:30pm

Screening: "75 Years in the Dark: Portraits of Women" at SF MOMA
SOMA: 151 Third Street, Mission Street, $5 general; free for SFMOMA members or with museum admission, 7pm

+ Artist Talk: Clare Rojas "We They, We They" curated by Natasha Boas at The Museum of Craft and Folk Art
SOMA: 51 Yerba Buena Lane, , 7pm

Rachel Granofsky "Tenuous Divide" at CELLspace
Mission District: 2050 Bryant Street, 6-midnight

"SF FIne Art Fair" Opening Preview Party at Fort Mason Center
Marina District: Intersection of Marina Boulevard & Buchanan Stre, $65 online/ $75 at door, 7-9pm

Benefit: "Kalabration 35+1" at Kala Art Institute
Berkeley: 2990 San Pablo Avenue, $125, 6:30-9:30pm

Friday, May 21

Performance: "Eidolon" Illusion/Delusion/Allusion at Climate Theater
SOMA: 285 9th Street, $5, 8-11pm

Dice Tsutsumi, Lou Romano, Soosa Kim "Cuter Than Stranger" at Gallery 1988
Downtown: 1173 Sutter Street, 7-10pm

Screening: Michael Zheng "The Profession" curated by Steven Wolf Fine Arts at Marina Abramovic Institute
Downtown: 575 Sutter Street, 6-9pm

"United States of Asian America Festival" curated by Matt McKinley, Pamela Wu Kochiyama at City Hall
Civic Center: 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Supervisors' Offices, 5-8pm

Nicolas Torres "Neighborhood Watch" at Adobe Books Backroom Gallery
Mission District: 3166 16th Street, Window Gallery, 7-9pm

Ryan Graeff of Restitution Press "How To Run L.A." at FreeGoldWatch
Haight Ashbury: 1767 Waller Street, floor 1, 7-11pm

Art Fair: "SF Fine Art Fair" at Fort Mason Center
Marina District: Intersection of Marina Boulevard & Buchanan Stre, , 5:30-7:30pm

Performance: Frank Moore "The Uncomfortable Zones of Fun" experiments in experience/participation performance at Temescal Art Center Oakland: 511 48th Street , at Telegraph Avenue, Free, 8-11pm

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+ Aliza Rand, Amanda Eicher, Azin Seraj, Becky Suss, Bonnie Begusch, Matt Mullins, Miguel Arzabe "No Right Angles" The 40th Annual University of California, Berkeley Master of Fine Arts Graduate Exhibition at Berkeley Art Museum
Berkeley: 2626 Bancroft Way, at College Avenue, FREE w/ Museum Admission, 6:30-7:30pm

+ Lecture: "What’s It All Mean: William T. Wiley in Retrospect," Graduate Student Speaker: Lizzy Ramhorst at Berkeley Art Museum
Berkeley: 2626 Bancroft Way, at College Avenue, FREE w/ Museum Admission, 12pm

Saturday, May 22

Marina Zurkow "Elixir IV" at Catharine Clark Gallery
SOMA: 150 Minna Street, Media Room, 10am-noon

+ Chester Arnold "Natural Histories: The Crooked Timber and other paintings and drawings" at Catharine Clark Gallery
SOMA: 150 Minna Street, 10am-noon

Ellen Fullman, Theresa Wong "O Sleep" at Southern Exposure
Mission District: 3030 20th Street , $8-$10 sliding scale, 8:30pm

? Alexander Cheves "Spacetime" at Rowan Morrison Gallery
Oakland: 330 40th Street, (time not confirmed, check with gallery)

+ "Lapse" at Lobot Gallery Oakland: 1800 Campbell Street, 18th Street, 7pm

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Sunday, May 23

Artist Talk: Alissa Goss, Tallulah Terryll at The Compound Gallery
Oakland: 1167 65th Street, floor 1, 3-6pm

+ Artist Talk: Craig Doty "Two Nudes" at Important Projects Oakland: 5432 Boyd Avenue, floor 2, 7pm

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Artcards San Francisco is a weekly email publication led by editor Emma Spertus. Email event submissions to sfinfo@artcards.cc or use our submission form. New: you can now add an image to your listing by using the submission form.

+ = Editor's pick
? = Opening not confirmed - check site for updates.