Seeing Beverly Fishman’s “The Pursuit of Perfection” felt like stepping into a high-voltage, multicolored lab where art and science merge. Growing up in Detroit and spending time at Cranbrook, Fishman’s work was a constant, a vibrant presence I always admired – so it was really special to be able to see her work again out here.
This show, though, brought her vision to life in a way that felt personal yet universal, especially for the contemporary issues that a city like San Francisco is currently grappling with. Her pieces—smooth, geometric, glowing—play with our obsession with perfection and the ways we seek it, from the pharmaceuticals we rely on to the technologies we trust.
Fishman’s bas-relief “Polypharmacy” paintings practically pulse with energy, their colors spilling onto the gallery walls like a side effect all their own. Each one feels like a pill designed not just to be consumed, but to spark thought, to shift perception. And her pill-shaped sculptures, especially Composure, take that idea further—a soothing balm of a sculpture that somehow embodies calm, inviting us to exhale in its presence.
It’s a remarkable reflection on progress, on the ways we chase optimized realities. Fishman’s art doesn’t just comment; it pulses, it whispers and echoes, a vivid commentary on the techno-optimism of our times. For me, seeing her work up close was like reconnecting with an old friend—familiar yet utterly transformed.
“The Pursuit of Perfection” is on view and free to the public through November 2 at Jessica Silverman Gallery on 621 Grant Ave, San Francisco.
