Anne Reinert joins us to discuss the sweeping Gerhard Richter exhibition at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, which traces his six-decade career from early photo-based figurative painting through bold abstractions, glass works and over-painted photographs. Drawing on the exhibition’s thematic juxtapositions, the discussion will examine his persistent tension between representation and abstraction, history and memory, where technique becomes metaphor. By situating the exhibition’s five hundred-odd works within the context of the artist’s German-born, post-war upbringing and later refusal to paint after 2017, the conversation illuminates why Richter remains a tireless investigator of image, surface and meaning.

Richter has many works at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and this retrospective will help us understand his extraordinary artistic journey better.

For most Americans, the term “suburbia” conjures single-family homes and uniform architecture in areas that are solely residential and reliant on car transportation. With its array of land uses and architectural styles, North Berkeley defies this stereotype. On this tour, we’ll visit its Tudor Revival public library, homes of different styles, a small but vibrant business district, and even a small agricultural site.

We’ll discuss the magnificent Queen Anne period hotel gracing the area in the late 19th century and the foibles of the stage actor who had it built. And we’ll see how the area’s layout is well designed for the community’s present-day needs and discuss examples of home hardening that help prepare it for the challenges of the future.

1.6 miles, 100 feet elevation gain, 2 hrs.

Ballpark tours last 90 mins. They are offered through the SF Giants and require purchase of a ticket.  Click here for tickets and be sure to select a time when I’m scheduled to lead.

Ballpark tours last 90 mins. They are offered through the SF Giants and require purchase of a ticket.  Click here for tickets and be sure to select a time when I’m scheduled to lead.

Ballpark tours last 90 mins. They are offered through the SF Giants and require purchase of a ticket.  Click here for tickets and be sure to select a time when I’m scheduled to lead.

Ballpark tours last 90 mins. They are offered through the SF Giants and require purchase of a ticket.  Click here for tickets and be sure to select a time when I’m scheduled to lead.

During the recent fall Open Studios, Rodney met painter Matthew Frederick and was drawn in by his art, in which shadows, shapes, and textures are deliberately exaggerated to invite fresh viewing of everyday scenes. His richly textured oil paintings strike a balance between abstraction and representation, using bold brushwork and vibrant color to emphasize underlying structural rhythms in nature.

Matthew is also great to talk with, and we’ll have a lively discussion in which we view his paintings and talk about his art making process.

We'll meet at the Park Branch Public Library (1833 Page St.) and visit sites related to the neighborhood's history and the amazing music it produced. Between stops, I'll play music from Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Big Brother & The Holding Company and many others. The tours lasts about 2 hrs.

Click here for information on the music I play, neighborhood food choices, etc.

The Berkeley Free Speech Movement was one of the first major protests of the 1960s, a decade that would come to be defined by student unrest around the US and the World.  What preceded the FSM, and why did it happen here?  How did the spirit of protest resonate beyond the FSM, and how does its influence continue to this day?  We’ll visit key locations for the FSM and other 1960s protests and discuss Berkeley institutions that played important supporting roles.

We meet at the Mario Savio Steps in front of Sproul Hall (between the Sather Gate and Student Center) on the UC Berkeley campus .

1.0 mile, 100 feet elevation gain, 2 hours

We'll meet at the Park Branch Public Library (1833 Page St.) and visit sites related to the neighborhood's history and the amazing music it produced. Between stops, I'll play music from Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Big Brother & The Holding Company and many others. The tours lasts about 2 hrs.

Click here for information on the music I play, neighborhood food choices, etc.

Ballpark tours last 90 mins. They are offered through the SF Giants and require purchase of a ticket.  Click here for tickets and be sure to select a time when I’m scheduled to lead.

Ballpark tours last 90 mins. They are offered through the SF Giants and require purchase of a ticket.  Click here for tickets and be sure to select a time when I’m scheduled to lead.

Ballpark tours last 90 mins. They are offered through the SF Giants and require purchase of a ticket.  Click here for tickets and be sure to select a time when I’m scheduled to lead.

Ballpark tours last 90 mins. They are offered through the SF Giants and require purchase of a ticket.  Click here for tickets and be sure to select a time when I’m scheduled to lead.

The exhibition Lee ShinJa: Drawing with Thread at Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (through Feb. 1, 2026) presents over forty works spanning more than five decades of the Korean artist Lee ShinJa’s career, from the 1950s to the early 2000s. It highlights her pioneering innovations in fiber art—incorporating found materials like grain sacks and mosquito nets, then advancing into large-scale weavings and sculptural textiles that blur craft and fine art. The show is the artist’s first major museum retrospective in North America and offers visitors both her monumental finished works and the seldom-seen maquettes and sketches that reveal her inventive process.

Rodney will be joined by Nick Despota and Jeanette Pettibone to discuss the exhibition.

For most Americans, the term “suburbia” conjures single-family homes and uniform architecture in areas that are solely residential and reliant on car transportation. With its array of land uses and architectural styles, North Berkeley defies this stereotype. On this tour, we’ll visit its Tudor Revival public library, homes of different styles, a small but vibrant business district, and even a small agricultural site.

We’ll discuss the magnificent Queen Anne period hotel gracing the area in the late 19th century and the foibles of the stage actor who had it built. And we’ll see how the area’s layout is well designed for the community’s present-day needs and discuss examples of home hardening that help prepare it for the challenges of the future.

1.6 miles, 100 feet elevation gain, 2 hrs.

The Berkeley Free Speech Movement was one of the first major protests of the 1960s, a decade that would come to be defined by student unrest around the US and the World.  What preceded the FSM, and why did it happen here?  How did the spirit of protest resonate beyond the FSM, and how does its influence continue to this day?  We’ll visit key locations for the FSM and other 1960s protests and discuss Berkeley institutions that played important supporting roles.

We meet at the Mario Savio Steps in front of Sproul Hall (between the Sather Gate and Student Center) on the UC Berkeley campus .

1.0 mile, 100 feet elevation gain, 2 hours

We'll meet at the Park Branch Public Library (1833 Page St.) and visit sites related to the neighborhood's history and the amazing music it produced. Between stops, I'll play music from Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Big Brother & The Holding Company and many others. The tours lasts about 2 hrs.

Click here for information on the music I play, neighborhood food choices, etc.

Ballpark tours last 90 mins. They are offered through the SF Giants and require purchase of a ticket.  Click here for tickets and be sure to select a time when I’m scheduled to lead.

Ballpark tours last 90 mins. They are offered through the SF Giants and require purchase of a ticket.  Click here for tickets and be sure to select a time when I’m scheduled to lead.

Ceramic sculptor and jewelry designer Jane B. Grimm is a San Francisco native with more than 3 decades of artmaking experience. Her wall sculptures bring to mind minimalist painters such as Agnes Martin and suggest biologic forms. Many of her works have titles that evoke jazz music, and it’s not hard to see the connection between her colorful forms and the improvisational creativity of jazz.

During the recent Artspan Open Studios event, Rodney visited her studio in the Haight Ashbury and was captivated by her artworks. He also found her fun and engaging to talk with, and our program will give us an opportunity to view her works and discuss her creative process.

For most Americans, the term “suburbia” conjures single-family homes and uniform architecture in areas that are solely residential and reliant on car transportation. With its array of land uses and architectural styles, North Berkeley defies this stereotype. On this tour, we’ll visit its Tudor Revival public library, homes of different styles, a small but vibrant business district, and even a small agricultural site.

We’ll discuss the magnificent Queen Anne period hotel gracing the area in the late 19th century and the foibles of the stage actor who had it built. And we’ll see how the area’s layout is well designed for the community’s present-day needs and discuss examples of home hardening that help prepare it for the challenges of the future.

1.6 miles, 100 feet elevation gain, 2 hrs.

The Berkeley Free Speech Movement was one of the first major protests of the 1960s, a decade that would come to be defined by student unrest around the US and the World.  What preceded the FSM, and why did it happen here?  How did the spirit of protest resonate beyond the FSM, and how does its influence continue to this day?  We’ll visit key locations for the FSM and other 1960s protests and discuss Berkeley institutions that played important supporting roles.

We meet at the Mario Savio Steps in front of Sproul Hall (between the Sather Gate and Student Center) on the UC Berkeley campus .

1.0 mile, 100 feet elevation gain, 2 hours

“What I want most when I go to an art museum is to be surprised” is a direct quote from Art Viewing Adventures host Rodney Paul, and on this program he will attempt to surprise you and, perhaps, himself. Can anyone predict what will ensue?

Millions of years before its first human inhabitants arrived, North Berkeley was strewn with fascinating rock formations. Today, the area includes a set of lovely parks where these remnants of its geologic past can be seen. We'll talk about the Native American presence in the area and how the rocks were used by these first inhabitants. We'll also discuss the creation of the parks and their role when the first housing developments were created.

We meet in amphitheater of John Hinkle Park (41 Somerset Pl, Berkeley). The tour ends at the Great Stoneface Park, a 10 to15 min. walk from our start point.

2.0 miles, 300 feet elevation gain, 2 hours

Ballpark tours last 90 mins. They are offered through the SF Giants and require purchase of a ticket.  Click here for tickets and be sure to select a time when I’m scheduled to lead.

Ballpark tours last 90 mins. They are offered through the SF Giants and require purchase of a ticket.  Click here for tickets and be sure to select a time when I’m scheduled to lead.

We'll meet at the Park Branch Public Library (1833 Page St.) and visit sites related to the neighborhood's history and the amazing music it produced. Between stops, I'll play music from Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Big Brother & The Holding Company and many others. The tours lasts about 2 hrs.

Click here for information on the music I play, neighborhood food choices, etc.

The Berkeley Free Speech Movement was one of the first major protests of the 1960s, a decade that would come to be defined by student unrest around the US and the World.  What preceded the FSM, and why did it happen here?  How did the spirit of protest resonate beyond the FSM, and how does its influence continue to this day?  We’ll visit key locations for the FSM and other 1960s protests and discuss Berkeley institutions that played important supporting roles.

We meet at the Mario Savio Steps in front of Sproul Hall (between the Sather Gate and Student Center) on the UC Berkeley campus .

1.0 mile, 100 feet elevation gain, 2 hours

Take a moment to slow down and rediscover the world around you. Join us for an upcoming Zoom meeting where we’ll explore the intersection of mindfulness and photography. In our fast-paced world, the simple act of “seeing” can be a powerful tool for presence. With the ubiquitous availability of smartphone cameras, we have a remarkable instrument for capturing these moments right in our pockets. David Grady joins us for this discussion

During our time together, we will discuss:

·      How photography can be a meditative / mindful practice.

·      The power of using your smartphone to see the world with fresh eyes.