Exhibits
February 2 - 27, 2019
“Yoshi Yubai's photography explores a dark side of the human experience. His work from his time in San Francisco reflects deviant aspects of humanity. Very much like black metal, his photos are both ugly and grotesque, but artfully stunning at the same time.” - Yosuke Konishi
Jan 3 - 30th, 2019
A year-long collaboration between visual artist Sienna Freeman, poet Justin Robinson, and SF based small press F U Z Z.
December 7 – 24, 2018
Gwen Amber Rose Araujo is a tribute to the late LGBTQ Gwen Araujo (1985-2002), a transgender teenager who was murdered in California on October 24, 2002.
Oct 29-Nov 28, 2018
Shaghayegh Cyrous exhibits the Klozar Weaving Project, started officially in 2014 by the artist and her mother, Soheila Moayed Jafari, based separately in the US and Iran.
Sept 28 - Oct 26, 2018
3 poet-painters: Agneta Falk, Mary Julia Klimenko & Tamsin Smith. Curated by Matt Gonzalez.
September 1-23, 2018
An exhibition of new + old work by Laura Halsey Brown, founder of senseofplace LAB.
August 3-26, 2018
Rob Moss Wilson + Van Waring come together for a show about finding joy in the face of hopelessness.
June 2-July 1, 2018
A visual art exhibition + collaborative zine that centers womxn, femmes + gender nonconforming artists of color, with their stories on unrequited love, respect + care. Curated by Renae Moua.
May 5- 31, 2018
A project by the CCA Social Practice Workshop. Facilitated by Ranu Mukherjee.
April 13-29 (Closed Mondays & Tuesdays)
Belle Bueti + Rebecca Haseltine merge vintage clothing and fluid watercolors to create a multisensory experience in this unusual exhibition cum pop-up-shop.
February 8 - April 5
Politically motivated Irish artists’ work appears and disappears in the gallery over the course of two months. Curated by Jim Ricks.
January 23rd-February 6th, 2018
An exhibition marking the launch of INCITE Journal of Experimental Media's issue #7/8: Sports. Curated by Astria Suparak + Brett Kashmere.
November 3–26, 2017
This collective of female identifying and gender non-binary artists works in less commercial art forms and in the expanded field of visual arts. "You are invited to step into our history, our archive, and walk away with a slice of who we are."
October 13-29
Cynthia Navarro, Sanaa Khan, Max Stadnik & Kenneth Srivijittakar are the printmaking powerhouse Tiny Splendor. "We felt that by working together and collaborating with other artists we could go much further than we could as individuals."
Sept 8-October 1st, 2017
No matter the intentions: On equity in the arts is a space to understand how artists create systems of mutual support and strategic criticality in the ongoing struggle for equity; against the backdrop of institutional critique.
July 14 - August 2, 2017
Paintings and installation by artists and booksellers Kate Rosenberger and Justin Carder.
July 1-14, 2017
Future IDs are Free brings together individuals implicated in and working with the criminal justice system. The exhibition is a window for the public into a developing collaborative artwork.
June 13-25, 2017
Jen Delos Reyes takes up residence in the gallery with Art Lessons. Stop in to chat with the artist and check out her schedule of events.
June 9-12, 2017
We are excited to collaborate with the Mission Cultural Center's Mission Gráfica. This showcase exhibits printmakers currently working in the studio.
Thank you!
We raised enough funds to renovate the gallery and provide for a portion of our gallery programming for the upcoming season! Its not too late for you to make a tax deductible donation...
April 14-May 6, 2017
Social Practice artist Lexa Walsh takes over the gallery with The In-Between, a series of teas that bring together opponents for measured, respectful discussions about controversial topics in the neighborhood.
April 7, 2017 4-6 pm
15 artists of the San Francisco Bay School will be showcasing a range of works made during their Intersession Week.
March 3-26, 2017
Quincy Stamper's Neighborhood Identity features photographic portraits, plus interviews with residents and visitors to 24th Street.
February 4 - 26, 2017
Works of imagined fiction by local artist Lindsay Stripling. Includes an on-going, collaborative drawing with the audience, plus a watercolor workshop on Feb. 18, 2017.
February 4 - 26th, 2017
Holly Coley will be french kissing your eyeballs all month from our window display. Happy Valentine's Day!
January 31 - February 3rd, 2017
Neighborhood Seeds is a community-oriented art project by local artist Maren Salomon.
January 7-28, 2017
The Adobe white cube acts like a diorama for a wild collection of artworks — bodies, entities, and environmental modules imitating, and punning, the menageries of old.
Artist Editions - For sale


Volunteer
The Adobe Backroom gallery is currently seeking people who want to get involved. All are encouraged to apply. Sample duties include:
Exhibition installation, artist assistance, social media, and sitting gallery hours.
Do reach out – we’d love to talk!
Mission statement
The Adobe Books Backroom Gallery provides a space for experimental artworks inside a used bookstore that has been a hub of community connection and activity in the Mission for over 25 years. The Backroom’s mission is to be an alternative space where artists can make momentous decisions in their practice and experiment freely in the company of their peers. The cooperative is also interested in building a more explicit, dynamic connection between the bookshop and the exhibition space by encouraging artists to make site specific works that reference or engage with the bookstore.
We currently have three priorities for the work we host or co-create with artists:
Work that activates the space, connects with our neighborhood, and gets people in the door (to buy books as well as engage with art).
Work that integrates the bookstore and the gallery in interesting ways, and that leverages our site.
Work that connects with different, distinct sub-communities of the city.
We sell artists' work during their show at a 60/40% split. 60% going to the artist and 40% to the store. We also host pop-ups and artist events.
History
Adobe Books Backroom Gallery opened in 2001 and has since become an important crucible for emerging artists in San Francisco. Originally at the long time home of Adobe Books on 16th Street in San Francisco’s Mission District, the gallery has moved with the book store to 3130 24th Street. The Backroom’s mission is to be an alternative space where artists can make momentous decisions in their practice and experiment freely in the company of their peers. The Backroom Gallery is affiliated with the Adobe Books and Arts Cooperative group that runs the bookstore.
We sincerely thank all those who have volunteered their time over the years to program the gallery, work with artists, put together auctions, and support the bookstore. A more complete curatorial history in the works.
2018
2017
2016
2014-5
2013
2009-12
2007-8
2003-6
2001-3
Yasmin Hussein
Amanda Eicher