In ‘Character Development,’ personae made of monsters, makeup, and dark magic

Lately it’s been challenging to write art reviews in San Francisco. As numerous journalists have reported, the closure of galleries and schools has made the arts landscape seem rather bleak. After Kadist, an international arts organization and collection, shuttered its Mission gallery earlier this year and a number of prominent galleries have vacated the gallery complex at Minnesota Street Projects (MSP), the two have teamed up for the exhilarating exhibition “Character Development” (through October 31).  Kadist’s inaugural director, Joseph del Pesco, is now its Americas director, guiding the organization s programming from North to South America. In his first local curatorial project after returning to the Bay Area, del Pesco showcases six exceptional videos by national and international artists from Kadist’s own collection and, refreshingly, beyond its holdings. Installed at 1201 Minnesota Street, the large video projections capitalize on the dark cavernous project space, making i