A night in SF for the erudite: artists Naomi Kremer (1st in this slide show), whose fluid abstractions on canvas and in video format reference nature, and French philosopher/author Stephane Zagdanski displayed their latest works at an opening night show Modernism, Inc. Later, at dinner at Foreign Cinema (at gallerist Martin Muller’s Modernism West annex), Zagdanski explained his words on paper are the basis for his visual art. He paints all the words to a single short story on each canvas, layering them so that eventually, their meaning is concealed. But in doing so, he reveals something about his feelings and state of mind — through the colors and the abstractions he creates. A film projected on the wall compressed into five minutes the 17 hours he spent on one painting alone over the course of a month. The 20 or so guests included other artists, collectors, and people about town who knew how to draw one another out in conversation over risotto with lemon and truffles, Caesar salad, and filet mignon (or scallops) — with cocoa soufflé as a delicious accent on the end of a stimulating evening all around. #modernisminc #naomiekremer #stephanezagdanski #foreigncinema @sfchronicle_style