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PRESS RELEASE
Opening Reception: Friday, November 7, 2025 | 5–9 PM
Exhibition Dates: November 7-30, 2025
Location: MAG Galleries, 3931 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94114

San Francisco Artist Joseph Abbati Unveils Bold New Solo Exhibition at MAG Galleries

San Francisco artist and curator Joseph Abbati will debut his latest solo exhibition, Tongues & Torsos, opening Friday, November 7, 2025, at MAG Galleries in the Castro District. The opening reception will be held from 5 to 9 PM at 3931 18th Street and is free and open to the public.

At the heart of Tongues & Torsos are two distinct yet interwoven series that explore humor, defiance, identity, and the body.

Tongues

This vibrant and cheeky series captures men in a pose familiar to today’s selfie culture—sticking out their tongues. Against bright, pastel backgrounds, heads pop out like figures in a lively “Whack-A-Mole” game, exuding a spirit that is both irreverent and delightfully human. Here, the tongue becomes a playful, phallic symbol—an instrument of pleasure and mischief, reclaimed from its usual associations with disapproval or rudeness. Abbati’s subjects subvert these taboos, expressing carefree confidence that resonates with queer culture’s embrace of shameless expression, while also tapping into a universal humor and joy.

Torsos

If Tongues revels in playfulness, Torsos leans toward the provocative. This series explores identity and form through a striking fusion of the human and bovine. Male torsos morph into bull-headed hybrids, oscillating between vulnerability and power. Eyes—rendered with haunting precision—anchor the viewer in a dialogue between anatomy and abstraction. Alongside these hybrids, Abbati presents cropped torsos isolated below the neck and above the legs, foregrounding physical presence and challenging traditional portraiture. Together, these works examine the essence of what defines a figure.

A busy fall schedule with two auctions, open studios, group exhibits, and a solo exhibit.

August 9th, 12-5pm at Heron Arts, 7 Heron Street, San Francisco. This is a one day pop-up marketplace featuring 20 local artists, ceramicists, jewelry artisans, candles makers, and more! I’ll be participating with small works.

Bites will be provided and there will be a no host bar offered by Monarch Beverage Company.

I participated in this year’s Triton Museum “Salon 2025” in Santa Clara, CA. Honored to be part of this exhibit of 146 artists chosen from 2,300 applications.

Secondary Market is a series of abstract paintings that challenges conventional notions of artistic value and utility. Rooted in the concept of up-cycling, the series transforms what might typically be dismissed as “secondary” or “unworthy”. I have repurposed test canvases originally created alongside my figurative works—pieces intended for technique trials, style experiments, or conceptual explorations.

The paintings are 13.75″ X 13.75″ X 1.5″ framed made with acrylic/gouache on canvas mounted on acrylic/gouache on canvas and mounted on board.

The “Here And Now: The Bay Area Figurative Movement Grows,” at the Sausalito Center for Arts was hosted for the second year. I participated in this group exhibit about today’s narrative, expressive phase of the Bay Area figurative movement is about reflecting on the world we live in. 

We are telling stories that reach beyond academic achievement and accuracy. We are truth seeking. Sometimes we embrace the unbeautiful. Or create beauty for its own sake. 

Our work might reflect on our personal struggles or reflect the tensions that surround our lives. We are presenting a range of select artists who focus on the figure and are living and working in The Bay Area. Each is grounded in the figurative movement yet continues to explore and express their humanity through portrayals of the form in context. 

CURATORS: Susan R. Kirshenbaum and Catherine Merrill

EXHIBITING ARTISTS: Joseph Abbati, Doug Andelin, Isidoro Angeles, Adam Caldwell, Sandy Frank, Tebby George, Mary Graham, Susan R. Kirshenbaum, Calvin Lai, Kim Larson, 

Catherine Merrill, Stephen Namara, Diane Olivier, May Shei, Sandra Speidel

AND

THE DRAWING GROUP: Dwight Been, Henry Bridges, Daisy Eneix, John Goodman, Susan R. Kirshenbaum, Pamela Mooney, Alex Rosmarin, Peter Steinhart, Barbara Tonnesen, Dieter Tremp

Tongues Out is a vibrant and cheeky series capturing men in a pose familiar to today’s selfie culture—sticking out their tongues. This playful gesture is both humorous and bold, with roots in defiance and self-expression. In each painting, heads pop out from bright, pastel backgrounds, reminiscent of a lively “Whack-A-Mole” game, each figure exuding a spirit that is both irreverent and delightfully human. The tongue here serves as a playful, phallic symbol—an instrument of pleasure and mischief, often hidden due to its association with disapproval or rudeness.

The men in Tongues Out subvert these taboos, using their tongues to express a carefree confidence that resonates with queer culture’s embrace of shameless expression. Yet, the works are universal in their humor, capturing a common impulse to tease, play, and defy in our own unique ways. With striking colors and popping figures, this series is a celebration of shared humanity, showing how a single, silly gesture can encapsulate joy, freedom, and defiance.

2024/25, acrylic/gouache on canvas, diamond 33.75″ X 33.75″ X 1.5″, square 20″ X 20″ X 1.5″ on linen, 25.375″ X 23.375″ X 1.5″

“BOLDFACE” group exhibit at Radian Gallery opening November 7 through December 14, 2024. This exhibit features six of my “Bulls Eyes” series. The “Bulls Eyes” series emerges as a provocative exploration of identity and form, challenging conventional notions of human representation through a striking fusion of the human and the bovine. Each painting in this collection serves as a compelling dialogue between anatomy and abstraction, casting a reflective gaze upon the very essence of what defines a figure.