Christiane Lyons Finds Deep Meaning in the Exhibition “Superficial Matters”

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By Noma Faingold       (August 14, 2026)

Mill Valley painter Christiane Lyons has dedicated the last 10 years to her series, which she somewhat facetiously calls, “Some Women: A Total Portrait With No Omissions.” The oil paintings are collage-like, yet more refined. There’s also a double or triple-exposure effect in the depiction of the women. The work is figurative, abstract and surreal. It’s easy to be drawn to the colorful, layered pieces. There’s a soft beauty to them. But a closer, more pensive examination reveals an indictment on the objectification of women in history and in current times.

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“Treasure of the Pharaohs” Exhibition Digs into Egyptian Life and Afterlife

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By Noma Faingold.      (August 2, 2026)

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco is counting on the public’s continuous fascination of ancient Egypt when FAMSF presents, “Treasures of the Pharaohs,” from August 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027, at the de Young Museum. The touring exhibition spans 3,000 years of ancient Egyptian history, showing how the all-powerful pharaohs shaped religious practices, social structure and daily life. Continue reading →

Weaving Past and Present Together in “Nenge Omuko: The Gathering”

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By Noma Faingold.                            (July 10, 2026)

You can’t separate the art from the artist. With Nigerian painter and humanitarian Nengi Omuko, that’s a really good thing, as opposed to infamous misogynist Pablo Picasso, pedophile and bigamist Paul Gauguin and murderous pimp Caravaggio (born Michelangelo Merisi).

The Impressionist paintings of up-and-coming Omuko, 39, embrace heritage, revere nature, while grappling with the human condition, in all its struggles and triumphs.

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The Etruscans: From the Heart of Ancient Italy

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By Noma Faingold.     (May 5, 2024)

As far as ancient history, the Romans and the Greeks seem to get all the attention culturally, with respect to architecture, artifacts, precious jewels, inventions, the alphabet, religious ritual and even the Gods.

Until now.

The new exhibition at the Legion of Honor Museum, “The Etruscans: From the Heart of Ancient Italy,” opened May 2 and continues through September 20. Continue reading →

“Monet and Venice” Dives Deep into Venetian Waters

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By Noma Faingold.       (March 18, 2026)

Claude Monet of France (1840-1926), the founder of Impressionism and the movement’s most prolific painter, reluctantly visited Venice in October of 1908. At the time, he had grown disenchanted with the way his “Water Lilies” paintings were progressing. His dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel, rejected the work, leading Monet to cancel the upcoming show at the Paris gallery and to destroy many of the paintings in the series.

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Bouquets to Art

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By Noma Faingold.          (February 8, 2026)

More than 100 of Northern California’s top floral designers are donating their talents, time and materials to the 42nd annual Bouquets to Art exhibition. Approximately 50,000 people will tour the de Young and Legion of Honor museums to encounter the enhanced galleries during the exhibition fundraiser, March 3-8.

Installation view of Bouquets to Art 2025, Legion of Honor. Photograph by Randy Dodson

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Be Our Valentine

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Curated by Gary Meyer.     (February 8, 2026)

Several years ago I curated a large selection of odd and ironic Valentine’s Day cards and nostalgia with movie stars and celebrities joining in. Plus a gallery about food and drink as the way to our hearts.

This year we thought a lot more vintage images and some contemporary selections could make your heart laugh and would brighten your week. But be warned, some of these cards are cringy. Others are surprising (women’s suffragettes featured on cards—to balance to the horny little boys that dominated these cards for decades). We have some fun videos, “My Funny Valentine” as performed by two of our favorite singers plus Bad Bunny’s Valentine’s videos. Continue reading →

Artist Rose B. Simpson Transforms Classic Cars While Healing Herself

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By Noma Faingold  (Updated September 10, 2025)

Artist Rose B. Simpson is more than a little preoccupied with vessels. She views pottery, cars, her figurative sculptures, the womb and clay, a material she most often uses in her creations, as vessels.

Courtesy of Rose B. Simpson

“I think in clay. Clay was the earth that grew our food, was the house we lived in, was the pottery we ate out of and prayed with,” Simpson told a de Young Museum audience at a very personal lecture she delivered earlier this year. “My relationship to clay is ancestral and it has a deep genetic memory. It’s like a family member for us.” Continue reading →

Lawrence Ferlinghetti-Painter & Poet for All Generations

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By Noma Faingold                 (August 1, 2025)

“I never wanted to be a poet. It chose me. I didn’t choose it. One becomes a poet almost against one’s will, certainly against one’s better judgement. I wanted to be a painter, but from the age of 10, these damn poems kept coming. Perhaps one of these days they will leave me alone and I can get back to painting.”

           – Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poet laureate, publisher, activist, playwright, novelist and painter

The poet and artist Lawrence Ferlinghetti in his San Francisco studio. (Photo courtesy of Brian Flaherty for The New York Times)

Calling someone an “icon” is annoyingly overused these days. However, when it comes to the late multi-hyphenate Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021), the moniker is appropriate, especially in San Francisco, where he thrived artistically and socially since his arrival in 1951. Continue reading →

Isaac Julien Dreams A World

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By Noma Faingold (April 16, 2025)

Watching the 28-minute, 10-screen film/art installation, “Lessons of the Hour,” by British artist/filmmaker Sir Isaac Julien, isn’t as overwhelming as one might think. In fact, the flood of images, sounds and words, dedicated to the life of writer, orator, philosopher, and social justice activist Fredrick Douglass (1818-1895), a former slave, allows the viewer to absorb and interpret the immersive experience in their own way.

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Wrestling the Angel: Two Bay Area filmmakers compose an intimate portrait of a California artist at crossroads

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By Farwa Ali          (January 30, 2025)

Graceful veined hands turn the seashell over a few times in reverent contemplation. A few moments later artist Ann Arnold tosses the seashell back into the rippling cerulean waves lapping against the shore of San Francisco’s Baker Beach. It has completed its journey, traveling from the ocean into Arnold’s life; where she has acknowledged its value, captured its luminous existence in her painting, and respectfully returned it to the ocean from whence it emerged. Wrestling The Angel – an Artist’s Passage, does more than capture Arnold’s artistic journey.

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