40+ San Francisco Museum Exhibitions To See Right Now

As we enter a new month, many museum exhibitions in San Francisco are getting refreshed and replaced. We’re keeping tabs on the best new temporary exhibitions from SFMOMA to the Asian Art Museum, so you’ll never miss an amazing new display! Read on to start planning your next museum visit, and be sure to see our list of free museum days in SF to get the most bang for your buck.

Museum exhibitions closing soon in SF

1. Bernd & Hilla Becher – closing April 2, 2023 at SFMOMA
2. Michelle Erickson: Wild Porcelain – closing Apr. 2, 2023 at the Legion of Honor
3. Space Explorers: The Infinite – closing Apr. 9, 2023 at Craneway Pavilion in Richmond
4. CARNE Y ARENA – closing Apr. 9, 2023 at Craneway Pavilion in Richmond
5. Gillian Laub: Family Matters – closing April 9, 2023 at the Contemporary Jewish Museum

Museum exhibitions opening soon in SF

1. We Become [Vessels] – opening Mar. 23, 2023 at the Contemporary Jewish Museum
2. New Work: Anna Sew Hoy – opening Mar. 25, 2023 at SFMOMA
3. Janet Cardiff: The Telephone Call – opening Mar. 25, 2023 at SFMOMA
4. Beyond Bollywood: 2000 Years of Dance in Art – opening Mar. 31, 2023 at the Asian Art Museum
5. Alison Saar: To Sit A While – opening Apr. 5, 2023 at the Museum of the African Diaspora
6. Black Venus – opening Apr. 5, 2023 at the Museum of the African Diaspora
7. Ansel Adams in Our Time – opening Apr. 8, 2023 at the de Young Museum
8. Concrete Journals: Anne Hicks Siberell – opening Apr. 15, 2023 at the Museum of Craft and Design
9. Fight and Flight: Crafting a Bay Area Life – opening Apr. 15, 2023 at the Museum of Craft and Design
10. Sadie Barnette: The New Eagle Creek Saloon – opening Apr. 22, 2023 at SFMOMA

Special exhibitions

1. Space Explorers: The Infinite at Craneway Pavilion in Richmond
   • Through Apr. 9, 2023: Take an hour-long immersive journey abroad the International Space Station.
2. CARNE y ARENA at Craneway Pavilion in Richmond
   • Through Apr. 9, 2023: An Academy Award®-winning immersive VR experience by Alejandro G. Iñárritu about the plight of refugees.

SFMOMA

Current exhibitions at SFMOMA

1. Bernd & Hilla Becher
   • Through Apr. 2, 2023: A collection of over 200 photographs and works by German artist couple Bernd and Hilla Becher.
2. Sightlines
   • Through May 7, 2023: A new presentation from SFMOMA’s photography archives, through stories and perspectives rather than chronologically.
3. Julian Charrière: Erratic
   • Through May 14, 2023: Explore representations of Arctic and Antarctic landscapes in this solo multimedia exhibition.
4. (a)way station
   • Through May 21, 2023: Artists Paul Kariouk and Mabel O. Wilson present the dilemma of conventional notions of home for migrant families in this sculptural and architectural exhibition.
5. 2022 SECA Art Award Exhibition
   • Through May 29, 2023: Explore the work of award-winning Bay Area artists Binta Ayofemi, Maria A. Guzmán Capron, Cathy Lu, Marcel Pardo Ariza, and Gregory Rick. Each artist fills a different Floor 2 gallery with a site-specific installation.
6. Alexander Calder: Dissonant Harmony 
   • Through May 2023: A collection of whimsical and dynamic mobile sculptures from the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s.
7. Conversation Pieces 
   • Through June 25, 2023: Browse an interesting collection of contemporary furniture pieces that prioritize meaning and materiality over functionality.
8. Acción Latina: The ’80s Matter in the Mission
   • Through June 27, 2023: An exploration of art and activism in SF’s Mission District in the 1980s.
9. Corporeal
   • Through June 1, 2024: A collection of sculptures that explore the human figure, both fragmented and whole.
10. Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors, Again!
    • Through Jan. 2, 2024: The beloved nine-screen video installation The Visitors (2012) will be back at SFMOMA!  Viewers will enjoy an hour-long work presented on nine screens depicting various musicians performing in different rooms of a historic New York mansion.

Upcoming exhibitions at SFMOMA

1. New Work: Anna Sew Hoy
   • Mar. 25, 2023 – July 16, 2023: An interior sculptural landscape made from ceramic, textile, and found materials.
2. Janet Cardiff: The Telephone Call
   • Mar. 25, 2023 – July 22, 2023: An AR experience around SFMOMA galleries narrated by Janet Cardiff using layered video images, ambient sounds, and music.
3. Sadie Barnette: The New Eagle Creek Saloon
   • Apr 22, 2023 – May 11, 2023: A reimagining of SF’s first Black-owned gay bar as an art installation and performance series.
4. Frank Bowling: The New York Years 1966-1975
   • May 20, 2023 – Sept. 10, 2023: The first major survey of the abstract painter’s work in over 40 years.
5. Kinship: Photography and Connection
   • May 20, 2023 – Nov. 12, 2023: An exploration of how humans find connection and belonging through friendship, physical places, family, and more.

Legion of Honor

Current exhibitions at the Legion of Honor

1. Michelle Erickson: Wild Porcelain
   • Through Apr. 2, 2023: Colonial ceramic techniques take on contemporary themes including local environmental issues.
2. Sargent and Spain
   • Through May 14, 2023: An exploration of John Singer Sargent’s paintings of Spanish coastlines, churches, palaces, and dancing.
3. Bookworks: Selected Recent Acquisitions, 2012-2022
   • Through June 25, 2023: A collection of modern artist-illustrated books including 2 works from Pablo Picasso.
4. Paperworks: 15 Years of Acquisitions
   • Through June 25, 2023: A collection of prints, drawings, photographs, and artists’ books acquired by the museum over the past 15 years.

Upcoming exhibitions at the Legion of Honor

1. The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England
   • June 24 – Sept 24, 2023: The first major exhibition of Tudor artifacts in the United States. Discover portraiture, textiles, silver, jewelry, manuscripts and more in its only West Coast stop.
2. Botticelli Drawings
   • Nov. 18, 2023 – Feb. 11, 2024: Explore the first-ever exhibition dedicated to Sandro Boticelli’s drawings, which offer profounds insights into his most famous masterpieces including Adoration of the Magi.
3. Bouke de Vries – Memories in Porcelain
   • Jul 22, 2023 – Mar. 24, 2024: Dutch artist Bouke de Vries presents a series of creative ceramic wares including 8 commissioned pieces.

de Young Museum

Current exhibitions at the de Young Museum

1. Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence
   • Mar. 18 2023 – Oct. 15, 2023: A showcase of paintings and sculptures confronting the silence around violence against Black and Brown bodies.
2. Lhola Amira: Facing the Future
   • Through Dec. 3, 2023: Solo exhibition by Lhola Amira featuring the site-specific spiritual portal Philisa: Zinza Mphefumlo Wami (2022), which guests may enter to cleanse wounds, honor ancestors, and foster connections.
3. Nampeyo and the Sikyátki Revival
   • Through Sept. 15, 2024: A showcase of 32 pots by Tewa-Hopi potter Nampeyo, one of the most renowned potters of the American Southwest.

Upcoming exhibitions at the de Young Museum

1. Ansel Adams in Our Time
   • Apr. 8, 2023 – July 23, 2023: Over 100 photographs tracing Ansel Adam’s artistic development with captures of Yosemite, SF, and the American Southwest.
2. Bouquets to Art 2023
   • June 5-11, 2023: The 39th annual rendition of the de Young’s popular floral celebration, in which over 100 floral designers present botanical arrangements inspired by the museum’s collections.
3. The de Young Open 2023
   • Sept 30, 2023 – Jan 21, 2024: A community art exhibition showcasing works from artists in the 9 Bay Area counties.

Asian Art Museum

Current exhibitions at the Asian Art Museum

1. Color Trip: Yoshida Hodaka’s Modern Prints
   • Through May 1, 2023: Discover almost 50 prints by Japanese artist Yoshida Hodaka, who blends Japanese and Western print styles for a colorful and memorable display.
2. Into View: Bernice Bing
   • Through June 26, 2023: A collection of 20 paintings and works on paper by San Francisco painter Bernice Bing, the first of an ongoing series of collections in the Asian Art Museum highlighting under-recognized modern artists.
3. Delightful Luxury: The Art of Chinese Lacquer
   • Through Sept. 18, 2023: Highlights from the museum’s collection of Chinese lacquer including furniture, court accessories, luxury items, and scholars’ objects.
4. Past Continuous Tense
   • Through Sept. 18, 2023: A large display of life-size Japanese, Korean, and Chinese nature scenes from Hong Kong-based artist Lam Tung Pang.

Upcoming exhibitions at the Asian Art Museum

1. Beyond Bollywood: 2000 Years of Dance in Art
   • Opening Mar. 31, 2023: Audiences can experience diverse visual artworks and immersive video works centering on dance and movement in South and Southeast Asia.

Museum of the African Diaspora

Current exhibitions at MoAD

No current exhibitions yet — museum is closed for exhibition installation until Apr. 4, 2023.

Upcoming exhibitions at MoAD

1. Alison Saar: To Sit A While
   • Apr 5, 2023-May 1, 2023: A sculptural exhibition devoted to playwright Lorraine Hansbury, whose play A Raisin in the Sun was the first play by a Black woman produced on Broadway.
2. Black Venus
   • Apr 5, 2023 – Aug 20, 2023: A celebration of Black beauty and womanhood, with contemporary works from 18 artists juxtaposed against archival depictions dating back to 1793.

Museum of Craft and Design

Current exhibitions at the Museum of Craft and Design

No current exhibitions yet — museum is closed for exhibition installation until April 14, 2023.

Upcoming exhibitions at the Museum of Craft and Design

1. Concrete Journals: Anne Hicks Siberell
   • Apr. 15, 2023 – Sept. 10, 2023: A collection of diaristic collages from the artist’s life dating back to the 1980s.
2. Fight and Flight: Crafting a Bay Area Life
   • Apr. 15, 2023 – Sept. 10, 2023: An examination of the ways local artists and studios stayed afloat during the pandemic.
3. Indie Folk
   • Feb. 24, 2024 – June 30, 2024: Learn about handmade works from Indigenous and settler histories in the Pacific Northwest.
4. Mr. Roboto
   • Feb 24, 2024 – June 30, 2024: A presentation of design activities and experiments in robotics from students at San Jose State University.

Contemporary Jewish Museum

Current exhibitions at the Contemporary Jewish Museum

1. Gillian Laub: Family Matters
   • Through Apr. 9, 2023: A collection of photography from Gillian Laub exploring societal questions through family.
2. Cara Levine: To Survive I Need You to Survive
   • Through Jul. 30, 2023: Levine examines loss, equity, and empathy in a contemporary world through Jewish traditions and interconnectedness.
3. L’chaim: Celebrating Our Building at 15
   • Through Jun. 9, 2024: The CJM celebrates its iconic building designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, who was inspired by the Hebrew phrase l’chaim (“to life”).

Upcoming exhibitions at the Contemporary Jewish Museum

1. We Become [Vessels]
   • Mar. 23 – Jan. 28: Bay Area artist Annie Albagli uses Jewish tradition and ritual to examine isolation and human connection through video.
2. Mika Rottenberg: Spaghetti Blockchain
   • May 18 – Oct. 22: A large-scale exhibition of Rottenberg’s playful and absurdist artwork about contemporary societal issues.

 

See also: 10 free museum admission days to put in your calendar