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August 13, 2025 By squirt

“Bay Area Then” at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Chuck Sperry’s art is represented through zines, photos, and photocopies showing at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts from August 1 through January 25, 2026.

The exhibition features Margaret Kilgallen, Barry McGee, Rigo 23, Ruby Neri, Manuel Ocampo, Nao Bustamante, Carolyn Castaño, Bill Daniel, Alicia McCarthy, Sergio De La Torre and Chris Treggiari, Beatrix Fowler, Mike “Dream” Francisco, Johanna Jackson, Chris Johanson and Ajax Oakford, Arnold Kemp, Josh Lazcano, Eamon Ore-Giron, Gina Osterloh, Spie One and others.

“Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ new exhibition ‘Bay Area Then’ offers a glimpse of San Francisco in the ’90s, before tech and its hyper-driven version of capitalism overtook the city. The show opens with clusters of ephemera: photos, graffiti zines and photocopied flyers. Whether protesting art censorship or advocating for squatting in abandoned properties, the flyers point to a hopeful radicalism that thrived in an age before ubiquitous AI and mass surveillance. These informal pieces lend ‘Bay Area Then’ a grassroots feel that’s rare for a white-walled, capital-A art institution.” — KQED Arts

‘Bay Area Then’ is on view through Jan. 25, 2026, at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (701 Mission St., San Francisco). Curated by Eungie Joo.

“First Strike” screen printed poster for my print studio’s first gallery show hosted by Txutxo Perez, Lawrence El Colacion & Michael Roman at Mission Badlands in May 1998. [a xerox version is showing at YBCA. Photo above: Filth magazine in vitrine, some photos of shows I curated.]

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Alicia McCarthy, Arnold Kemp, Barry McGee, Bay Area Then, Beatrix Fowler, Bill Daniel, Carolyn Castaño, Chris Johanson and Ajax Oakford, Eamon Ore-Giron, Filth, Gina Osterloh, Johanna Jackson, Josh Lazcano, Manuel Ocampo, Margaret Kilgallen, Mike “Dream” Francisco, Nao Bustamante, Rigo 23, Ruby Neri, Sergio De La Torre and Chris Treggiari, Spie One, YBCA, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

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About Chuck Sperry

Chuck Sperry lives in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, where he’s made his particular style of rock poster designs for over 20 years. He operates Hangar 18, a silkscreen print studio, located in Oakland. Learn More…

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Sperry Books: “Color x Color” • “Helikon” • “Chthoneon” • “Idyllion”

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  • Chuck Sperry’s Alabama Shakes Poster Release
  • “Bay Area Then” at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
  • Sperry’s Alabama Shakes at Hollywood Bowl Poster
  • Sperry’s Nick Cave Poster Release x Spoke Art at SDCC
  • Sperry Solo “Universal” Coming to Paris

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