This page lists artists with significant ties to the San Francisco Bay Area who have participated in major international recurring exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale, documenta, Whitney Biennial, São Paulo Bienal, Havana Biennial, Carnegie International, and other prominent biennials and triennials.
Joan Brown (1938–1990, San Francisco) — a key figure of the Bay Area Figurative Movement and a student and later faculty member at the San Francisco Art Institute. Included in the Whitney Annual (1960) as the youngest artist that year, and again in the Whitney Biennial (1972 and 1977).
Bruce Conner (1933–2008, San Francisco) — lived in the Bay Area for more than 50 years; a central figure in Bay Area assemblage, film, and conceptual art. Participated in the Whitney Biennial (1997), the Berlin Biennale (2006), and the Carnegie International (2008).
Richard Diebenkorn (1922–1993) — a defining figure of postwar California painting, based in Berkeley from 1953–1966 and a co-founder of the Bay Area Figurative Movement. Represented the United States at the Venice Biennale twice: at the 34th edition (1968) and as the sole US representative at the 38th edition (1978), showing his Ocean Park series.
Robert Colescott (1925–2009) — Oakland-born painter who earned his BA and MA from UC Berkeley. In 1997 represented the United States solo at the Venice Biennale, the first Black artist to do so in a solo presentation.
Pauline Oliveros (1932–2016) — foundational figure of the SF Tape Music Center and Mills College; posthumously included in the Venice Biennale 2026 (In Minor Keys). Though she spent most of her career in San Diego and New York, her formative years and Mills College connection make her a key part of Bay Area experimental music history.
Ruth Asawa (1926–2013, San Francisco) — a hanging garden of the San Francisco-based sculptor’s sculptures was included in the 2022 Venice Biennale The Milk of Dreams. Her posthumous debut.
Wayne Thiebaud (1920–2021) — long based in Sacramento and San Francisco, and a longtime UC Davis faculty member. Chosen to represent the United States at the Bienal de São Paulo (1967) and included in documenta 5 (1972, Kassel).
William T. Wiley (1937–2021) — a defining figure of Bay Area Funk Art, based in the region for most of his career. Participated in two editions of the Venice Biennale, documenta V (1972, Kassel), and multiple editions of the Whitney Annual and Biennial.