First Thursday in San Francisco and First Friday in Oakland roll out with a bang this week. I believe that the summer excitement is about to begin.

The Luggage Store Gallery has a great-looking historical survey of Bay Area Abstract Expressionism. Furthermore, Jancar Jones Gallery, Hatch Gallery, and Creative Growth have good offerings. 

See you out there strolling in the newfound warm weather.

Friday:
+ "Rehistoricizing Abstract Expressionism in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1950s-1960s" curated by Carlos Villa at Luggage Store Gallery

+ Gay Outlaw and Bob Schmidt, Guillermo Gomez-Pena, Joseph del Pesco, Ken Lo, Lynn Hershman Leeson , Margaret Tedesco & Matt Borruso, Packard Jennings, Paul Schiek and , Taro Hattori, The Bureau of Urban Secrets "Now and When" curated by Meg Shiffler at SF Arts Commission Gallery

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+ David Berezin "Combo" at Jancar Jones Gallery
+ Rebecca Whipple at Hatch Gallery
+ Regis-R "Straight to the Bone" at Creative Growth
+ David Pena Lopera, Justin Hoover , Kathryn Williamson, Laura Boles Faw "I-Object" curated by Clark Buckner at Royal NoneSuch Gallery
+ Performance: The Residents at Berkeley Art Museum

+ Elliot Anderson, Emily Payne, Jennifer Parker and Barney Haynes, Joan Margolies-Kiernan, Mitra Fabian, Nathan Hodges, Rebecca Najdowski, Suzanne Husky "Groundswell" at Kala Art Institute

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Wednesday, June 2

"Etch-A-Sketch" A project by SoEx's Youth Advisory Board at Southern Exposure
Mission District: 3030 20th Street , 6-8pm

Thursday, June 3

"20/20" at Back to the Picture
SOMA: 1110 Howard Street, 6-9pm

Daniel Berman, Rene Almanza, Uriel Marin "Las Calles Electricas" at 111 Minna Gallery
SOMA: 111 Minna Street, 5pm

Derek Weisberg, Jaime Lakatos, Ken Davis, Lexa Walsh , Nathaniel Parsons, Savanna Snow "The Trophy Room" at Fivepoints Arthouse
SOMA: 72 Tehama Street, at 2nd Street, 6-9pm

"Craft Bar" at The Museum of Craft and Folk Art
SOMA: 51 Yerba Buena Lane, $5, 6-8pm

Reed Anderson "You Would If You Loved Me" at Gregory Lind Gallery
Downtown: 49 Geary Street, floor 5, 5-7:30pm

Darren Waterston, Emily Prince, Kota Ezawa, Leslie Shows, Shaun O'Dell, Taha Belal at Haines Gallery
Downtown: 49 Geary Street, floor 5, 5:30-7:30pm

Ernest Jolly "Sound, Video, Sculpture, and Installation" at Patricia Sweetow Gallery
Downtown: 77 Geary Street, Mezzanine, 5:30-7:30pm

Frederick Hayes "Drawings, Installation & Paintings" at Patricia Sweetow Gallery
Downtown: 77 Geary Street, Mezzanine, 5:30-7:30pm

Nancy Haynes, Richmond Burton, Stephen Westfall, Susan Mikula "New York" at George Lawson Gallery: Room for Painting Room for Paper
Downtown: 49 Geary Street, at Market Street, floor 2, the rear gallery, 5:30-7:30pm

Ron Gorchov at George Lawson Gallery: Room for Painting Room for Paper
Downtown: 49 Geary Street, at Market Street, floor 2, the room for paper, 5:30-7:30pm

Tad Wiley at George Lawson Gallery: Room for Painting Room for Paper
Downtown: 49 Geary Street, at Market Street, floor 2, the room for painting, 5:30-7:30pm

? David Koloane, Deborah Bell, Diane Victor, Douts, Penny Siopis "Points Of Departure" at Bekris Gallery
Downtown: 49 Geary Street, floor 2, (time not confirmed, check with gallery)

Michael Kenna at Stephen Wirtz Gallery
Downtown: 49 Geary Street, floor 3, 5:30-7:30pm

Diane Andrews Hall at John Berggruen Gallery
Downtown: 228 Grant Avenue, floor 2, 5:30-7:30pm

Austin McManus , Brandon Chuesy "Who Needs Friends When You Have a Partner In Crime" at Ever Gold
Downtown: 441 O'Farrell Street, 6-9pm

Chelsea James "Souvenirs of Solitude" at Dolby Chadwick Gallery
Downtown: 210 Post Street, floor 2, 5:30-7:30pm

Erin Cone "Passages" at Hespe Gallery
Downtown: 251 Post Street, floor 4, 5:30-7:30pm

Albert Nguyen, D Young V, Kevin Buckley, Mario Delgado, Megan Wolfe, Tamar Solomon, Teppei Ando "Hipster Apocalypse" at Cafe Royale
Downtown: 800 Post Street, 8pm-midnight

John deFazio, Leigha Mason "The Candy Store" curated by Jarrett Earnest at Meridian Gallery
Downtown: 535 Powell Street, 6-9pm

Jim Damron, Klari Reis, Nicholas Bohac "Positive Reception" at Hang Art (HANG ART )
Downtown: 567 Sutter Street, 6-8pm

Jane Maxwell at Caldwell Snyder Gallery
Downtown: 341 Sutter Street, 6-8pm

? Michael Ryan at Lake Gallery
Hayes Valley: 661 Divisadero Street, (time not confirmed, check with gallery)

Christopher Romer, Jamie Spinello, Serena Mitnik-Miller at SF MOMA (SFMOMA Artists Gallery at Fort Mason)
Marina District: 0 Fort Mason Center, 5:30-7:30pm

Friday, June 4

Daniel Peddle "Backstage" at Electric Works
SOMA: 130 8th Street, Project Room, 6-8pm

Daniel Nicoletta "More Glitter - Less Bitter" at Electric Works
SOMA: 130 8th Street, 6-8pm

"No Birds Allowed" curated by Betty Nguyen at NOMA Gallery
SOMA: 80 Maiden Lane, floor 3, 7pm

Alex Zecca at Gallery 16
SOMA: 501 Third Street, 6-9pm

Suzanne Frazier at Gallery 16
SOMA: 501 Third Street, 6-9pm

Clinton Fein "Recap" at Toomey Tourell Fine Art (Toomey Tourell Projects)
Downtown: 575 Sutter St, Suite 201, 6-9pm

Kamau Amu Patton at Alphonse Berber Gallery (Alphonse Berber Projects)
Downtown: 575 Sutter St, Suite 202, 6-9pm

Lecture: Julie Anand, Michael Kenna "PhotoAlliance lecture" at San Francisco Art Institute
Russian Hill: 800 Chesnut Street, SFAI lecture hall, $10 general admission $5 students w/ ID, 7:30pm

+ "Rehistoricizing Abstract Expressionism in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1950s-1960s" curated by Carlos Villa at Luggage Store Gallery
Civic Center: 1007 Market Street, floor 2, 6-9pm

+ Gay Outlaw and Bob Schmidt, Guillermo Gomez-Pena, Joseph del Pesco, Ken Lo, Lynn Hershman Leeson , Margaret Tedesco & Matt Borruso, Packard Jennings, Paul Schiek and , Taro Hattori, The Bureau of Urban Secrets "Now and When" curated by Meg Shiffler at SF Arts Commission Gallery Civic Center: 401 Van Ness Avenue , at McAllister Street, 6-8pm

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"Views of the City" at Artist-Xchange Gallery
Mission District: 3169 16th St, 7-10pm

+ David Berezin "Combo" at Jancar Jones Gallery
Mission District: 965 Mission Street, Suite 120, 6-9pm

Porous Walker "Haricots Magiques" at FIFTY24SF Gallery
Hayes Valley: 248 Fillmore Street, 7:30pm

Judith Zissman "shipshape, a battle" at Rare Device
Hayes Valley: 1845 Market Street, 7-9pm

"Breaking the Spine" at Rare Device
Hayes Valley: 1845 Market Street, 7-9pm

Susan Weisberg "Form Does Not Differ from Emptiness: Variations on a Zen Theme" at San Francisco Zen Center Hayes Valley: 300 Page Street, at Laguna Street, 7-9pm

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+ Rebecca Whipple at Hatch Gallery
Oakland: 492 23rd Street, at Telegraph Avenue, 6-9pm

Keira Kotler "Stillness" at Chandra Cerrito Contemporary
Oakland: 480 23rd Street, floor 1, 6-9pm

+ Regis-R "Straight to the Bone" at Creative Growth
Oakland: 355 24th Street , 5-8pm

Benefit: "10th Annual Benefit Art Sale" at 21 Grand
Oakland: 416 25th Street, 6-9pm

Julianne Sterling "The Mommy Assassins" at Mercury 20 Gallery
Oakland: 475 25th Street, at Telegraph Avenue, floor 1, 6-9pm

Maya Kabat "This Living Process" at Mercury 20 Gallery
Oakland: 475 25th Street, at Telegraph Avenue, floor 1, 6-9pm

"Second Annual Paint by Number group show" at WE artspace
Oakland: 768 40th Street, 1-10pm

+ David Pena Lopera, Justin Hoover , Kathryn Williamson, Laura Boles Faw "I-Object" curated by Clark Buckner at Royal NoneSuch Gallery
Oakland: 4231 Telegraph Avenue, Free, 7-10pm

Rune Olsen "If Only...." at Johansson Projects
Oakland: 2300 Telegraph Avenue, at 23rd Street, Free, 5-8pm

Carol Lefkowitz "SLATE art & design" curated by Danielle Fox at Slate Gallery
Oakland: 4770 Telegraph Avenue, at 48th Street, 6-9pm

+ Performance: The Residents at Berkeley Art Museum
Berkeley: 2626 Bancroft Way, at College Avenue, FREE w/ museum admission, 7:30pm

+ Elliot Anderson, Emily Payne, Jennifer Parker and Barney Haynes, Joan Margolies-Kiernan, Mitra Fabian, Nathan Hodges, Rebecca Najdowski, Suzanne Husky "Groundswell" at Kala Art Institute Berkeley: 2990 San Pablo Avenue, Free, 6-8pm

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Alex Benedict , Gary Nakamoto, Kazuko Watanabe, Nancy Mintz, Nif Hodgson, Noah Wilson, Regina Stadnik, Sylvia Solochek Walters, Unai San Martin "On View: New Work from Kala" at Kala Art Institute Berkeley: 2990 San Pablo Avenue, 6-8pm

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Saturday, June 5

Artist Talk: Daniel Nicoletta "Even More Glitter" at Electric Works
SOMA: 130 8th Street, , 6-9pm

Jeff Adams at Braunstein/Quay Gallery
SOMA: 430 Clementina Street, 3-5pm

Brett Cook at Guerrero Gallery
Mission District: 2700 19th Street, 3-11pm

Michael Capozzola "Riddler's Mother" at Mission: Comics & Arts Mission District: 3520 20th Street, Suite B, 8-11pm

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David Fallis, Tara Foley "Covert Activity: Continuing Meditations on Multi-Dimensional Existence" at Soap Gallery
Bernal Heights: 3180 Mission Street, 6-9pm

"Artfest3" at Art 94124 Gallery
Hunters Point: 3900-B 3rd Street, noon

Darrin Martin, Torsten Zenas Burns "What If? In the Days When the Tiger Smoked" at Krowswork
Oakland: 480 23rd Street, at Telegraph Avenue, Side Entrance, 6pm

Sunday, June 6

Screening: "No Birds Allowed" Sunday Brunch Screening at NOMA Gallery
SOMA: 80 Maiden Lane, floor 3, noon

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.