In these difficult times, some good news came recently from San Francisco’s prestigious de Young Museum.

In celebration of the museum’s 125th anniversary, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are hosting The de Young Open, a juried community art exhibition of submissions by artists who live in the nine Bay Area counties. The de Young Open continues the museum’s long-standing tradition of engaging the local community and showcasing the talent of Bay Area artists, who offer their pieces for sale and retain 100 percent of the proceeds.

Artists were encouraged, though not required, to address the concept of “On the Edge,” which references not only the Bay Area’s geographic location on the Pacific Rim, but also the region’s historical reputation for leading-edge, cutting-edge, or edgy culture and creativity. Recently, the concept of living on the edge has taken on an especially poignant meaning during the COVID-19 crisis.

Over 11,000 artworks were submitted for jury consideration and 877 were selected to be in the show.
I am honored and delighted to announce that “Signs of the Times” was among the selected works!
Respecting the current safety guidelines, the de Young Open exhibition opened to the public on October 10th and will run through January 3rd. Works of art in The de Young Open are hung “salon-style,” installed edge to edge and floor to ceiling, which enables a maximum number of works to be displayed.
Explore ‘The de Young Open’ with curator Timothy A. Burgard. On this virtual tour, we visit each gallery and its theme, and share the messages within select pieces.
Access The de Young Open Web Gallery to explore artworks in the exhibition. You will find instructions for purchase on this site. “Signs of the Times” by Simo Neri is #75.
Read about the exhibition: “George Floyd, isolation and Zoom: hundreds of artists fuel pandemic exhibition in San Francisco” by Peter Lawrence Kane