Pat O’Connor: Reclaimed | Closing Reception and Talk
2026-07-25 15:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Mercury 20 Gallery, 475 25th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Pat O’Connor, “Winter Sun and Shadow,” 2026, 48” x 36” x 2”, salvaged cardboard, acrylic paint, birch board
Pat O’Connor’s work has long explored the intersection of object, time, and narrative. Beginning with paper pulp castings over structures at a former World War II naval base, O’Connor developed a sustained interest in materials marked by history. In her exhibit, Reclaimed, she is drawn to surfaces shaped by wear, weather, and works with cardboard salvaged from the streets, recycling bins, and packaging. Through folding, layering, stitching, printing, and painting, she transforms these fragments and other seemingly incongruent materials into richly layered assemblages. Guided by shifts in patina and form, O’Connor builds surfaces dense with histories, lush harmonies, and active surfaces. Cardboard, humble and impermanent, originates from trees. O’Connor links the material back to the natural world. In some works, she introduces imagery of branches and tree forms, creating both calm and unsettling dialogues between the material’s fragile present and its living origin. In a culture shaped by disposability, O’Connor elevates overlooked materials, inviting viewers to sense the stories embedded in ordinary things as well as imagine ways the industrial and natural worlds might endure together.
Bio:
Pat O’Connor is an artist whose practice spans drawing, painting, assemblage, and site-responsive sculpture. Her work has been exhibited widely, most recently at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, Transmission Gallery in Oakland, the Sasse Museum of Art in Pomona, California, and O’Hanlon Center for the Arts in Mill Valley. Her pieces are held in public and private collections, including a public commission at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center. Pat received her BA in Painting and Drawing from UC Davis and pursued graduate study in textile arts at San Francisco State University. Honors include a San Francisco Foundation Grant, the Robert Rauschenberg-hosted Power of Art Award from the Lab School of Washington, D.C., and the Arts Educator of the Year Award from the San Francisco Unified School District. O’Connor has taught widely at notable institutions, including San Francisco State University, UC Berkeley Extension, and the de Young Museum.
Gallery Hours: Friday and Saturday, 12 – 5 pm (and by appointment)
Artists’ Opening Reception: Saturday, June 27, 3 – 5 pm
﻿Oakland Art Murmur / First Friday: Friday, July 3, 5 – 9 pm

Emily Shepard: In Flux | Closing Reception and Talk
2026-07-25 15:00 - 17:00 | Mercury 20 Gallery, 475 25th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Emily Shepard, “Conversant,” 2026, 32” x 71”, photo courtesy of the artist
Emily Shepard’s large-scale abstract paintings pull viewers into an immersive, otherworldly space — one of shifting depths, interacting layers, and arched forms that float like portals above restless water. Working on unstretched canvas, she builds richly textured surfaces through gestural mark-making, watery drips, and stitched canvas shapes. Indecipherable loops of script speak to rhythm, breath, and cycles.
Shepard’s work is mirrored by her practice as a year round swimmer in the San Francisco Bay: moving her body through cold water, attuned to tides and currents, releasing into the hypnotic push and pull. Her painting practice and bay swimming share the need for focused attention, awareness of sensation, and internal states. Each artwork, like each swim, is a search for wholeness, presence, and embodied learning.
Bio:
Emily Shepard is a Bay Area painter, born in Boston, Massachusetts. She earned her MFA with distinction from the California College of the Arts where she received the Barclay Simpson Award. She has shown her work locally and nationally, including the Crocker–Kingsley Exhibition at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. Currently she has three pieces on exhibit in “Voices without Boundaries” at the Sasse Museum of Art in Pomona, CA. Shepard is a Kipaipai Fellow and member of the artist-run gallery, Mercury 20 in Oakland, CA. Her work is included in private and corporate collections. Shepard swims year round without a wetsuit in the San Francisco Bay. The practice of cold-water swimming focuses her senses, challenges her will, and informs her art.
Gallery Hours: Friday and Saturday, 12 – 5 pm (and by appointment)
Artists’ Opening Reception: Saturday, June 27, 3 – 5 pm
﻿Oakland Art Murmur / First Friday: Friday, July 3, 5 – 9 pm

First Friday Oakland Art Walk
2026-08-07 17:00 - 20:00 | Manna Gallery, 473 25th St., Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Join Manna Gallery for Oakland’s celebrated First Friday Art Walk and experience Everything Must Go as part of the city’s vibrant arts scene. Explore the exhibition during extended evening hours, connect with fellow art lovers, and discover the diverse perspectives of Bay Area artists responding to themes of release, transition, and renewal. Whether you’re revisiting the show or seeing it for the first time, First Friday offers a lively opportunity to engage with the artwork and the creative energy of Oakland’s Uptown Arts District.
Everything Must Go Juried Group Show
Juror: Lisa Solomon
Artists: Norman Aragones, Malachi Arthur, Jordan Benton, Laurie Caird, Madelyn Covey, Dana DeKalb, Eden Evans, Elizabeth Evans, Shelley Gardner, Elena Godina, Monica Guillory, Corrine Hatt, Rachel Katz, Kathryn Kenworth, Sarah Klein, Suzy Kopf, Faridah Laffan, Jenifer Lake, Patricia Liverman, Heath Massey, Colin McAllister, Erin McCluskey Wheeler, Manuel Rodriguez, John Rogers, Tammi Salas, John Sheridan, Maureen Shields, Renetta Sitoy, Jamie Smith, Hannah Claire Somerville, Jennifer Sturgill, Michelle Sweeney-Fillmore, Sarah Travis Buck, Yana Verba, Amy Vidra, Bill Ward, Martin Webb, Jia Wilson, and Alexander Yoshikawa
July 11 – August 8, 2026
First Friday Oakland Art Walk: August 7, 5-8 pm
Closing Event / Exhibition Awards: Saturday, August 8, 3-5 pm
Gallery Hours: Saturdays, 12-5 pm, First Fridays, 5-8 pm & by appt
Manna Gallery, established in 2010, is an art space in Oakland’s Uptown Arts District dedicated to showcasing the work of local and regional artists. As a long-time partner and venue of Oakland Art Murmur—a 501(c)(3) organization that connects Bay Area artists and collectors through free public programs, exhibitions, and events—Manna fosters a vibrant and supportive community for artists and art lovers alike. Through diverse and engaging exhibitions, the gallery celebrates Oakland’s dynamic visual arts scene and seeks to inspire and enrich the community.
Follow us on instagram: @mannagalleryoakland

Everything Must Go - Closing Event, Juror Talk & Awards
2026-08-08 15:00 - 17:00 | Manna Gallery, 473 25th St., Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Join acclaimed Bay Area artist, educator, author, and curator Lisa Solomon for a special closing event celebrating Everything Must Go Juried Group Show. Known for her mixed-media works and large-scale installations that explore themes of identity, craft, domesticity, and personal history, Solomon has exhibited nationally and internationally and is the author of several books on art and creativity, including the forthcoming Art/Craft/Color. During this brief presentation, she will share insights into her selection process, discuss the exhibition’s themes, and highlight works that resonated with her vision as juror. Following the talk, she will present two exhibition awards that extend opportunities beyond the exhibition itself. The Juror Award includes a featured hallway exhibition at Manna Gallery during the 2026–27 exhibition season, while the Manna Gallery Award includes an invitation to the gallery’s annual year-end group exhibition. As Manna Gallery’s first juried exhibition, Everything Must Go reflects our commitment to building new relationships with artists throughout the Bay Area and creating meaningful opportunities for future exhibition, visibility, and community engagement within our gallery program.
Everything Must Go Juried Group Show Artists
Norman Aragones, Malachi Arthur, Jordan Benton, Laurie Caird, Madelyn Covey, Dana DeKalb, Eden Evans, Elizabeth Evans, Shelley Gardner, Elena Godina, Monica Guillory, Corrine Hatt, Rachel Katz, Kathryn Kenworth, Sarah Klein, Suzy Kopf, Faridah Laffan, Jenifer Lake, Patricia Liverman, Heath Massey, Colin McAllister, Erin McCluskey Wheeler, Manuel Rodriguez, John Rogers, Tammi Salas, John Sheridan, Maureen Shields, Renetta Sitoy, Jamie Smith, Hannah Claire Somerville, Jennifer Sturgill, Michelle Sweeney-Fillmore, Sarah Travis Buck, Yana Verba, Amy Vidra, Bill Ward, Martin Webb, Jia Wilson, and Alexander Yoshikawa
July 11 – August 8, 2026
Closing Event / Exhibition Awards: Saturday, August 8, 3-5 pm
Gallery Hours: Saturdays, 12-5 pm, First Fridays, 5-8 pm & by appt

Exploring the Art of Collage: A Workshop Series with Raha
2026-08-29 08:00 - 17:00, 2026-08-29 10:00 - 13:00, 2026-08-29 14:00 - 17:00 | Dictée Art & Exhibitions, 2117 11th Avenue, Oakland, CA, 94606, United States
Join local multi-media artist Raha for an immersive, hands-on journey into the world of collage. Whether you are a complete beginner or an artist looking to refine your creative process, this workshop is designed to help you explore new stylistic constraints and stretch your imagination.
Date & Time: Saturday, August 29
Morning Session
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Afternoon Session
2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
