The Fine Arts Gallery at San Francisco State University presents four exhibitions annually. Two of these explore international contemporary art and historical examinations of the diversity of art in California and the West. Examples include exhibitions of contemporary work from Cuba, Scandinavia, and survey exhibitions. Examples of thematic group shows include With New Eyes: Toward an Asian American Art History, and Black Power/Black Art . Other thematic group exhibitions include The Erotic Life of Clay featuring Sexpots, and A California Calligraphy Summit. Rarely, solo exhibitions are featured. Examples include Chang Dai-Chien In California and John Gutmann: Parallels in Focus.

The remaining two exhibitions feature student work. These include the annual Stillwell Student Show, which is a juried exhibition for undergraduate art students, and the annual MFA Graduate Thesis Exhibition.

The Fine Arts Gallery is staffed by Art Department students, working in a professional gallery environment.