Lots of art-fun on Friday to look forward to! Just a matter of picking sides of the Bay; or being super ambitious and light of foot.

EAST BAY

Groundswell opening at Kala Gallery
2990 San Pablo, Berkeley, CA
6-8 pm
A juried exhibition featuring Elliot Anderson, Mitra Fabian, Nathan Hodges, Suzanne Husky, Joan Margolies-Kiernan, Rebecca Najdowski, Jennifer Parker and Barney Haynes, and Emily Payne

Oakland Art Murmur
Various Galleries in and around downtown Oakland
6-9 pm
Krowswork is usually pretty interesting.

Junk Pirate at the Compound Gallery
1167 65th Street, Oakland, CA
7-10 pm
A solo show of reconfigured junk store items by Oakland artist, art impresario and zinester Pete Glover.

(Shameless self-promotion alert!)
Irrational Exuberance (Asst. Colors) at Sight School
5651 San Pablo (at Stanford), Oakland, CA
5-8pm
My solo show of new installation, sculpture and works on paper inspired by discount stores, the decorative impulse and positive psychology.

Here and Now kicks off with the first night of Elaine Buckholtz’ Out of the Blue (Mills Hall Reconsidered)
Mills Hall (c.1871), Mills College, Oakland, CA
Sunset to 10:00 pm
Admittedly, I’m presenting a project on June 5th in this series as well, but I think Elaine’s work is killer too.

The Oakland Museum of California is also open til 8pm. But it is every Friday and Saturday, would you believe?

The Residents perform at the Berkeley Art Museum
2575 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA
7-9pm
The galleries will also be open til 9pm.

SAN FRANCISCO

Now and When opening reception at SFAC Gallery
Main Gallery and Grove Street, SF
6-8 pm
Newly-commissioned projects along the theme of time capsules by The Bureau of Urban Secrets, Joseph del Pesco, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Packard Jennings, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Ken Lo, Gay Outlaw & Bob Schmitz, Paul Schiek and Margaret Tedesco & Matt Borruso and Taro Hattori. Curated by Meg Shiffler.

Rehistoricizing Abstract Expressionism in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1950s-1960s, opening at the Luggage Store Gallery
1007 Market Street, San Francisco, CA
6-9pm
This show sounds killer. I love it when programming is ambitious. Villa, venerable SF artist and teacher, aims nothing less than to set the record straight on the presence of women and people of color in AbEx, largely seen as a field for macho cowboys.

Curated by CARLOS VILLA. This large scale exhibition creates and contextualizes an archive of women artists and artists of color who were undervalued because of the public and personal hegemonic social and aesthetic scrutiny at that time. Featuring 33 artists.