CHARLES DESMARAIS’ ART PICKS
“Wayne Thiebaud: 1958-1968”: The first 10 years of Thiebaud’s mature work — the pictures that had the remarkable effect of striking Alfred Frankenstein, The Chronicle’s great art commentator of the day, critically dumb. Free. Through May 13. Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, UC Davis, 254 Old Davis Road, Davis. (530) 7528500. https://manettishremmuseum.ucdavis.edu
Robert Rauschenberg: “Erasing the Rules”: An expansive exhibition that makes clear why the artist was one of the most influential of the latter half of the 20th century. Through March 25. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 151 Third St., S.F. (415) 357-4000. www.sfmoma.org “Casanova: The Seduction of Europe”: A look at the esthetics and the excesses embodied by the most famous womanizer of all time. The organizers of this exhibition, years in the planning, could not have known their project would open in the midst of the #MeToo era. The show reveals much about 18th century Europe and, it turns out, 21st century America, as well. $13-$28. Through May 28. Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, 100 34th Ave., S.F. (415) 750-3600. http://legionofhonor.famsf. org “If These Stones Could Sing”: A quiet but intensely powerful exhibition at the nonprofit gallery Kadist refutes the idea that we can shed the pain of monuments to oppression by obliterating them. Free. Through April 21. Kadist, 3295 20th St., S.F. (415) 738-8668. www.kadist.org
Deborah Roberts: “Uninterrupted”: Collage is a powerful medium in the hands of a skillful artist, with a history that crosses boundaries of the political and the surreal. Roberts lures us into her pictures, suggesting they may describe pretty little girls. Then, she lays out her demands. Free. Through March 17. Jenkins Johnson Gallery, 464 Sutter St., S.F. (415) 677-0770 www.jenkins johnsongallery.com