Fort Mason’s FOG Design+Art Fair didn’t need its 2,000+ guests to feel like a big deal — it’s been a cornerstone long enough to thrive on reputation alone. I stepped in expecting to find the usual suspects: a sea of well-dressed collectors, perfectly plated canapés, and art that costs at least three months’ rent in San Francisco for a ceramic vase.
And yes, it was all there, but the standout? Botanical motifs that seemed to sprout from every corner of the fair. Paintings, sculptures, textiles — nature was the headliner. Nowadays, when climate denial persists and political division deepens, these felt almost like quiet acts of defiance.
“Fog Focus” felt like the fair’s soul at Pier 2, formerly the San Francisco Art Institute — gone but not forgotten. Here I found the House of Seiko, a San Francisco-based gallery that celebrated the ceramic works of Oakland duo Cross Lypka. Their deep, glossy glazes popped against modern forms, with a nod to the Arts and Crafts movement.
But the real surprise came when I spotted Nimah Gobir’s painting, Uncle, a mix of oil paint, photo transfer, fabric, and embroidery thread on canvas, held my attention for an uncomfortably long time. It was both hyper-real and painterly — the narrative unfolding through the tension between representation and abstraction. Gobir was there in person as part of showings by Johansson Projects, an Oakland-based gallery.
“FOG offers a great opportunity to see just how big and varied the Bay Area art scene truly is — something that isn’t always as visible during individual exhibition openings,” Gobir told me.
I’m not a gala queen, but I’m told the talk of the night was the San Francisco Ballet also had theirs at the same time. In San Francisco we used to have “Hell Week,” so named because the SF Symphony and Opera held their opening parties the same week. Ever try to snag two $10,000 gowns, accessories, purses, and shoes for back-to-back parties with different color stories? Imagine, then, what it must be like to book catering, photographers, and entertainment for both events.
Mayor Daniel Lurie and a few others hurried between FOG and the SF Ballet, and my editor spoke to some who did that while at City Hall— they told him the vibe at FOG was “more hip.” We definitely spotted some great fashion, like Manny Yekutiel breaking from community organizing to rock head-to-toe brocade on a makeshift swing set:
Honestly, everything about this wins from Michele Pred and Renee Cox:
And who can ever not like one Ms. Kate Tova in a floral applique bodice — perfectly on theme for the night.
The shenanigans continued at “FOGLift: The Unofficial Unofficial Afterhours” party put on by Sonya Yu, who founded a creative studio space in SoMA. The party was a fun vibe with entertaining juxtapositions: High-end fashion alongside paper plates. I enjoyed bold choices like this headpiece and fake pigeon.
Free wine all night by Bar Part Time kept us conversational, while Outta Sight Pizza provided pizza art in collaboration with Leslie Martinez. It was honestly a chill vibe that took a little edge off from the high society peacocking earlier in the night.
FOG just ended, but there’s plenty more to see in the Bay Area art world. I highly recommend the weirdly wonderful Self-Brainwashing by Michail Michailov over at Minnesota Street Project.
And if you haven’t yet already, drop that overpriced latte and hustle over to SFMOMA for Amy Sherald: American Sublime. Running until March 9, 2025, this exhibition is Sherald’s first major solo museum gig, and she’s not holding back. We’re talking nearly 50 paintings, including portraits of Michelle Obama and Breonna Taylor.
Vita Hewitt is a Bay Area-based photographer, filmmaker, journalist, and writer.
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