A 2,600-square-foot gallery filled with Alexander Calder mobiles and Georgia O'Keeffe paintings opens Saturday, Oct. 3, at 201 Hamilton Ave. in downtown Palo Alto.

Hauser & Wirth, an international gallery group with locations across Europe, Asia and North America, chose Palo Alto for its first Bay Area space. The grand opening runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. with free admission.

The inaugural show, "Calder | O'Keeffe," is the first exhibition devoted to the friendship between the two American artists, according to Hauser & Wirth. It features paintings, sculptures, jewelry and archival materials, and runs through Sunday, Jan. 24, 2027. The exhibition was developed with the Calder Foundation and the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.

One artifact anchors the personal connection: in the late 1930s, Calder fashioned a brass brooch from the initials of O'Keeffe's surname. She wore it so the K hung from the O.

"Something magical happens when you see these two artists' work in conversation," Alexis Lowry, the exhibition's curator and Hauser & Wirth's curatorial senior director, told Modern Luxury. "Each brings a distinctive sense of rhythm and an appreciation for how air and wind can shape our experience of the world."

Beatrice Shen, the senior director who will run the Palo Alto location, described the gallery as an expansion of Hauser & Wirth's deep West Coast ties in the same interview. Shen previously helped oversee the group's Downtown Los Angeles location and led its participation in San Francisco's FOG Design+Art fair.

Architect Luis Laplace, who also designed Hauser & Wirth's Paris gallery, oversaw the renovation of the century-old Hamilton Avenue building, a former post office.

At 11:30 a.m., Calder Foundation President Alexander S. C. Rower, Calder's grandson, leads an exhibition walkthrough. Stanford Taiko performs at 1 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m., Laura Wertheim Joseph of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and Stanford professor Alexander Nemerov lead a second walkthrough focused on O'Keeffe. Cardinal Calypso plays at 3 p.m., followed by book and poetry readings from Musa Mayer, daughter of artist Philip Guston, and poet Clark Coolidge.

Food trucks Rincon Del Cielo Taqueria, Bay Area Munchiez and Crazy Empanadas will be on site, according to Secret San Francisco. Complimentary Salt & Straw ice cream is available from 3 to 5 p.m., and Fez Concierge will serve free coffee.

No mega-gallery has operated in the Bay Area since Pace Gallery closed its Palo Alto space in 2022 and Gagosian shuttered its San Francisco location in 2020, Artforum reported.

Gallery hours and future programming will be posted at hauserwirth.com.