Chuck Sperry

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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

September 17, 2012 By squirt

Occupy Art: Posters That Make the Movement Pop by Rachael Myrow

KQED Radio, “The California Report” • September 17, 2012 • by Rachael Myrow

Filed Under: Press & Reviews Tagged With: “The California Report” • September 17, 2012 • by Rachael Myrow, Betti-Sue Hertz, Chuck Sperry, Eric Drooker, Free University, Free University of San Francisco, Jon-Paul Bail, KQED, KQED Arts, KQED Radio, Occupy Bay Area, Occupy Oakland, Rachael Myrow, The California Report, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

September 17, 2012 By squirt

“The California Report” KQED Radio, Covers “Occupy Bay Area”

Today is the one year anniversary of the beginning of the Occupy Movement, and I sat down with KQED Radio’s Rachael Myrow at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, to talk about my Occupy poster, “This Is Our City And We Can Shut It Down” (below). This poster is included in the “Occupy Bay Area” exhibition at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Rachael spoke to me, fellow artist Eric Drooker, and exhibition curator, Betti-Sue Hertz about the significance of the art exhibition and more importantly, the progress and significance of the Occupy Movement in general.

Read Rachael Myrow’s “News Fix” article from KQED’s website on my Press & Reviews page HERE.

 

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Betti-Sue Hertz, Chuck Sperry, Eric Drooker, KQED, Occupy Bay Area, Rachael Myrow, The California Report, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

July 18, 2012 By squirt

Artists of Occupy Bay Area at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Filed Under: News Tagged With: “Indian Joe” Morris, Alexandra Fischer, Anonymous artists, Cannon Dill, Chris Shaw, Chuck Sperry, Colin Smith, Cristy C Road, Dave Garcia, Dignidad Rebelde (Melanie Cervantes & Jesus Barraza), Emory Douglas, Eric Drooker, Ewen Wright, Favianna Rodriguez, Fred Zaw, Gabby Miller, Gregoirire Vion, Ilka Hartmann, Jason Justice, Jon-Paul Bail, Kota Ezawa, Li Chen, Megan Wilson, Miriam Klein Stahl, Nuclear Winter Art, Occupy Bay Area, Occupy Design, Political Gridlock, Rachael Romero, Rich Black, Robert Bechtle, Ronnie Goodman, Rupert Garcia, Sanaz Mazinani, Sergio de la Torre, Sheila Tully, Steven Marcus, Suzanne Lacy, Winston Smith, Xavier Viramontes, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Zerena Diaz

July 16, 2012 By squirt

“Occupy Bay Area” on KQED 9, “This Week In Northern California”

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Occupy Bay Area, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

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  • “Bay Area Then” at 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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Latest Blog Posts

  • “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
  • Sperry in Popland 2025 at KochxBos Gallery, Amsterdam

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