Its a quiet end of the month/mid-summer type of week. A great time to do some catching up.

A friend recently posted his favorite art spaces, separated into various categories such as commercial or project space etc., and this got me thinking about which of my favorites were missing from that list. Two old school commercial galleries that came to mind were Stephen Wirtz and Rena Bransten Galleries, two of the stalwart spaces of the old heart of the Bay Area's art scene, the first block of Geary Street. 

It wasn't long after this that we all found out that Wirtz is closing its doors, after 35 years. As a messy undergrad, Wirtz was the only gallery I would go into in the late '90s where the owner would take the time to say hello to me, and it maintained a soft spot in my heart since then. The owners of the buildings at 49 and 79 Geary is continuing its slow disillusion of this scene, unable to resist a quick buck, raising one rent at a time to squeeze out the art spaces and move in (tech) offices. 

This is coupled with a roster which has failed to keep up with the city around it, and seemingly very little participation in where the market is these days: art fairs. But, it also comes in a year where amazing things have started to happen there, including a few outstanding group shows and the recent Mike Mandel & Larry Sultan show. I'm very sad to see them close.

On the other hand... Rena Bransten is still going strong, operating out of a temporary space while looking for its next home, and working to stay relevant in our crazy scene. Whatever one will say of this decade in our art world, it certainly won't be called boring. Tumultuous, transformative, full of slow deaths, flashes in the pan & new classics, and the one constant: tons of artists and their community trying to make it work.

Saturday:
+ Aaron Finnis, Charles Gute, Margo Wolowiec, Matt Lipps, Sanaz Mazinani, Simon Pyle, Stephanie Syjuco "ONES AND ZEROS" curated by Amy Owen, Jeanne Gerrity at di Rosa

Thursday, July 31

Irene Wibawa, Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, Joan Manubug-Oamil, Julie Andersen, Khải Hoàn Ngô, Maggie Yee, Manon Bogerd-Wada, Mido Lee, Reiko Fujii, Rupinder Kahlon, Susan Almazol, Wendy "A Place of Her Own" at Thoreau Gallery
Marina District: Presidio Building 1014 , Lincoln Blvd. & Torney Ave., 5-8pm

Friday, August 1

Brian Barneclo "There Goes the Neighborhood" at 111 Minna Gallery
SOMA: 111 Minna Street, 5pm-late

Romanowski "Woods" at 111 Minna Gallery
SOMA: 111 Minna Street, 5pm-late

Holly Dargie "Burning Man Costume Special First Fridays at Make Hang" curated by Aline Dargie at Make Hang
North Beach: 450 Green Street, floor 1, 6-9pm

Rodney Ewing "ASC/AiR IV: Rodney Ewing" at ASC Projects
Mission District: 3150 18th Street, #104 (entrance on T, 7-9pm

"Beyond Breakfast And Selfies: Instagram Shots Of Everyday Life" curated by Femme Cartel at Rock Paper Scissors Collective Oakland: 2278 Telegraph Avenue, at 23rd Street, 6-9pm

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Livia Stein "Amalgams & Hybrids" at Transmission Gallery
Oakland: 770 West Grand Ave., 6-9pm

Saturday, August 2

Karla Ortiz, Nimit Malavia, Sam Wolfe Connelly "Lore" at Hashimoto Contemporary
Downtown: 804 Sutter St, 6-10pm

Alexandra Blum, Calixto Robles, Marsha Shaw "Lazos Artísticos" at Campfire Gallery
Mission District: 3344 24th Street, 7-10pm

Arngunnur Yr, Erin Lawlor, Jennah Ward, Jenny Bloomfield, Jessalyn Haggenjos, Judith Belzer, Justine Frischmann, Marie Thibeault , Nancy Haynes, Narangkar Glover "Women in the Dunes" at George Lawson Gallery
Potrero Hill: 315 Potrero Avenue, free, 5:30-7:30pm

+ Aaron Finnis, Charles Gute, Margo Wolowiec, Matt Lipps, Sanaz Mazinani, Simon Pyle, Stephanie Syjuco "ONES AND ZEROS" curated by Amy Owen, Jeanne Gerrity at di Rosa
Napa: 5200 Sonoma Highway, 6-8pm

Artcards San Francisco is a weekly email publication led by editor Jackie Im and Aaron Harbour. Email event submissions to sfinfo@artcards.cc or use our submission form and add an image to your listing here. Powered by phpList.

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