Boom or Bust in the Bay

"The big news in the Bay Area is how the rise of AI has reinvigorated the region's tech sector. When I arrived for SF Art Week in late January, cryptic, pastel all-text billboards everywhere spoke in some kind of "for computers, by computers" business language that was mostly indecipherable to me. But while billions of dollars are flooding the large language models of the world, the Bay Area art world isn't quite seeing the trickle-down effect."

"In the past year Anglim/Trimble, Altman Siegel, Gagosian, and Rena Bransten have shuttered their San Francisco gallery spaces, the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art is selling its Napa Valley campus, and Kadist has flown the coop. The San Francisco Art Institute went the way of the dodo in 2022, and just seven days before SF Art Week, the California College of the Arts announced that it would be dissolved and its campus purchased by Vanderbilt University."

A surge in AI investment has reinvigorated Bay Area tech, producing prominent, cryptic advertising tied to large language models. Despite the tech boom, San Francisco's contemporary art world is contracting: prominent galleries have closed, arts centers are selling campuses, and longstanding schools have dissolved or shuttered. The mood around SF Art Week was subdued, with gallery offerings leaning pragmatic—colorful, wall-bound, moderately sized, and affordably priced—though notable works and exhibitions still emerged. Gallery Wendy Norris reported a successful year, and the Marie Wilson show presented paintings and drawings that mix Surrealist and visionary influences, evoking artists like Wifredo Lam, Agnes Pelton, Joan Miró, and Hilma af Klint.

Read at Artforum