San Francisco is hosting four spectacular solo shows this month. Gallery 16 brings Rex Ray's fine art back to California after a four-year hiatus, and, on the heels of a nationally-acclaimed retrospective, entitled Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and Video, Gallery Paule Anglim presents a selection of Carrie Mae Weems' photography. Then there's Ana Teresa Fernández's show at Gallery Wendi Norris and a series by Lydia Panas at Corden|Potts Gallery.  

Ana Teresa Fernández: Foreign Bodies

This collection of oil on canvas paintings and photographic prints document performances by Mexican-native Ana Teresa Fernández. The collection explores how women navigate the geographic, social, and physiological boundaries between the United States and Mexico. The underwater depictions of Fernández riding through the sinkhole waters in Mexico are disorienting, portraying the artists’ own body as a distant and foreign site.

Foreign Bodies runs from April 3rd to May 31st at Gallery Wendi Norris,
 161 Jessie Street. The opening reception will be hosted on Thursday, April 3rd from 6 to 8 p.m.

Rex Ray: Solo Show

San Francisco’s Rex Ray may have worked on commercial projects with corporate giants such as Apple, Sony, DreamWorks and Swatch, but his talent doesn't stop at graphic design. He draws on multiple disciplines to create highly collectible paintings, collages and prints. “I fell into a crazy group of Marxist, intellectual gays in Colorado in the 1970s,” Ray has said. "They had a very democratic approach to art, where they believed that all art forms were the same. There was no hierarchy between Fine Art and commercial.”  

This solo show runs from April 4th to May 16th at Gallery 16,
 501 Third Street. The opening reception will be hosted on Friday, April 4th from 6 to 9 p.m. 

Carrie Mae Weems: Subject and Witness

As the title of this exhibit suggests, photographer Carrie Mae Weems positions herself both behind the camera and in front of its lens. Her masterpieces represent the complexity of the human race and inspire conversation about identity, gender, race and class. It’s no wonder why she was a winner of the MacArthur Fellowship, often known as the “genius” grant. 

Subject and Witness runs through April 18th at Gallery Paule Anglim, 
14 Geary Street. 

Lydia Panas: Falling from Grace

Photographer Lydia Panas focuses on exposing her subjects’ depth. This intriguing series features models sitting against a black background with food or animal parts in hand. Though they are straight-faced, they convey subtle expression through their posture and relationship with their props.   

Falling From Grace runs from April 3rd to May 31st at Corden|Potts Gallery,
 49 Geary Street, Suite 410. The opening reception will be hosted on Thursday, May 1st at 5 p.m.