Emerging Artists in the East Bay

The Bay Area boasts a rich arts community, with emerging and renowned artists alike creating and exhibiting in our region.

It can be overwhelming to figure out where to discover cool and inspiring new works. We’ve done the work for you, with this list of three top artists currently exhibiting in the East Bay. Put these shows and galleries on your list to visit this spring.

Melek Zertal at Classic Cars West Gallery
411 26th Street, Oakland

Melek is an Algerian artist based in Paris, France whose drawings are regularly featured in the New-York Times. Melek’s current exhibition (through April 29th, 2018) at the funky and fun Classic Cars West Gallery is an intimate documentation of what can happen in a few square blocks. The artist’s half-year sojourn in the East Bay culminates in this series of prints and comics recreating what the artist calls “a sour sweet promenade through Oakland streets.”

“Roam” by Dharma Strasser MacColl at Traywick Contemporary Gallery
895 Colusa Avenue, Berkeley

Followers of Dharma Strasser MacColl’s career will be pleased to learn she is back in the Bay Area. The work featured in “Roam” came out of an unexpected year the artist spent living in The Netherlands. MacColl extensively photographed and documented her journeys through Northern Europe and returned to her California studio with an expansive visual diary of her time abroad. Through May 19th, this exhibition of new ceramic sculpture and works on paper is Strasser MacColl’s fourth solo show at the gallery.

Modern Landscapes at SLATE contemporary Gallery
473 25th Street, Oakland

An exhibition showcasing three SLATE artists, John Watson, Danae Falliers, and Micah Crandall-Bear, who explore different expressions of the physical landscape and environment that surrounds them. SLATE contemporary curates rotating thematic exhibitions featuring emerging and mid-career artists throughout the year. “Modern Landscapes” runs through April 28th.