Sandra Wong Orloff — Champion
2025-09-13 - 2025-10-25 | Manna Gallery, 473 25th St., Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Figurative drawings and watercolor abstractions explore the act of witnessing in a relentless age of information
Manna Gallery presents Champion, a solo exhibition by Oakland-based artist Sandra Wong Orloff, whose graphite, ink, and watercolor works reflect on what it means to witness the world as it unfolds. Responding to cultural and political moments that are often dismissed, distorted, or silenced, Wong Orloff’s art becomes an act of attention and truth-telling—a way of reclaiming focus and offering care to both her subjects and herself. Each figure, drawn from her own photographs or sourced from news media, is rendered with meticulous detail and placed in open space, then paired with abstract watercolor elements that invite ambiguity, tension, and reflection. Through this meditative process, Wong Orloff transforms observation into a deeply human record of resilience, identity, and connection.
September 13 – October 25, 2025
Reception & Artist Talk: Saturday, September 20, 2-4 pm
First Friday: October 3, 5-8 pm
Gallery Hours: Saturdays, 12-5 pm & First Fridays, 5-8 pm

Better Dey Come
2025-09-18 12:00 - 2025-10-23 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Johansson Projects, 2300 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Johansson Projects presents Better Dey Come, a solo exhibition by Nimah Gobir. Combining painting, photo transfer, fabric, and embroidery, Gobir blends memories across time and geography by drawing inspiration from her Nigerian heritage and upbringing in California. Peppered with personal ephemera such as handed-down cloth and family photo albums, Gobir’s work is rooted in domesticity and connection, sifting through the nuances of Black identity while referencing her specific familial experiences. Utilizing quilting cottons, and at times more ceremonial African wax prints, Gobir patches together a synthetic family history that is both widely recognizable and utterly specific. Compounded with the incorporation of personal photographs from the 1980s and 90s into her painted interiors, her work interrogates the nature of portraiture, memory, and nostalgia through intimate representations of family life. Gobir explores these thorough lines across generations, finding resonance among her current daily rituals, childhood, and family’s past: braiding hair, sitting for a meal, washing dishes, posing for a group picture. Her mixed-media work collapses time and space, leaving the viewer in a kaleidoscope of memories that diffuse into the present moment.
Better Dey Come runs from September 13th to October 18th with an artist reception on Thursday, October 2nd from 5-6:30 pm.
For all inquiries, contact Johansson Projects at 510-444-9140 or info@johanssonprojects.com

100 Years of Creative Visions
2025-09-24 11:00 - 2026-04-26 16:00 | Mills College Art Museum, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA, 94613, United States
In celebration of the Mills College Art Museum’s centennial, 100 Years of Creative Visions features an intergenerational and cross-cultural selection of major works from the permanent collection that emphasizes creative communities and the importance of artist friendships. Thematic sections throughout the exhibition highlight the strengths of the collection, such as, ceramics, Modernist Photography, California Impressionism, Mexican Modernism, Printmaking from Dürer to the Expressionists, Asian and Asian American art, and more.
