The Scene

In the sculptural work of Portuguese artist Miguel Palma, a cast concrete block might mark the open page of a favorite book. A half-finished Erector set model of the Eiffel Tower might appear alongside a 19th century photograph of the real Eiffel Tower at a similar stage in its construction. Engineering, architecture, history and even biomechanics all provide stimuli for the artist’s toylike imagination. Currently wrapping up a three month residency at 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica, the Lisbon-based artist's recent focus is on...

17 January, 2015 /

With gas prices down and the stock market reaching all-time highs as we approach the end of 2014, no doubt you’re looking for a place to put your excess cash to work. If so, you might want to consider throwing your weight around in the local art market this holiday season. Here are a few options in and around Orange County:   Cal State Long Beach’s 47th Annual Holiday Art Sale runs through this Wednesday, December 10, and features everything from ceramics to printmaking. Something tells us...

08 December, 2014 /

[caption id="attachment_6093" align="alignleft" width="465"] Las Damas, oil on canvas, appeared in the 2008 issue of OCC's Orange Coast Review. [/caption]A celebration was held Saturday in Santa Ana for Newport Beach artist Marilou Hogeboom, who passed away this month at the age of 87. Her work in recent years was seen most regularly at Orange County Fine Art’s co-operative Showcase Gallery, where the memorial was held, but in the early 1950s, as daughter Katy recalls, she exhibited large tapestries at the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts....

23 November, 2014 /

[caption id="attachment_6055" align="alignleft" width="349"] Pamela Diaz Martinez  |   Holy Spirit - II  |  Pastel on dura-lar[/caption] The physicist Carlo Rovelli mentioned in an interview recently that religion was a subject of interest to science but only out of respect for the religious as a group and very little scientific study has been dedicated to finding out the wellspring for a belief in “God” specifically. This aversion to exploring the subject of faith in a manner that approaches a possible "source" is not as lacking in fine art...

24 October, 2014 /

A to Z Featuring: Craig Antrim Casper Brindle Christopher Georgesco Donald Karwelis Eric Zammitt For galleries, presentation is paramount. The alchemy of impeccable lighting, thoughtful curating and an intimate knowledge of the artist's process combined with behind-the-scenes sweat and elbow grease can transform even the most humble space into a cathedral. For this reason, it is often times the smaller galleries that can be the most inspiring. Tucked away into the end corner of a small row of shops along Old Newport Blvd, the Brett Rubbico Gallery is quietly putting together some...

17 October, 2014 /

You probably didn't notice unless you rode a bus to the beach this summer, but for a while there was a bit more art in the streets than usual. Sponsored by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America and with monetary support from various related advertising companies, the Art Everywhere US project featured reproductions of American art from the collections of LACMA, the Whitney and other participating museums. The outdoor exhibit was nationwide, with billboards and subway posters in some locations. But in the local area it...

05 September, 2014 /

Late summer is hardly peak season in the art world: Schools are out of session and gallery owners are on vacation. If art is being seen, it’s most likely at one of the outdoor festivals at the foot of Laguna Canyon Road or in the art competitions at the local county fair. Obviously nobody wants to be indoors when it’s 90 degrees, but there are a few shows ending soon that will make a quick venture indoors a worthwhile endeavor. [caption id="attachment_5974" align="alignright" width="135"] A.M. Rousseau,...

19 August, 2014 /

In many areas all over the world, the dirtiest, grimiest places are also the places where the creative people are. Whether it be for low rent, more space, the love of the metropolis, or to invigorate communities through gentrification, sometimes the art is just better in the shitty neighborhoods. With low brow art movements originating in grimy areas of cities like NYC, L.A., Paris, Berlin, etc—Orange County is no different. The grimiest of grimy cities is also our beloved art-hub, the glorious downtown Santa Ana. The...

01 July, 2014 /

illustration by Jared Millar (after Alfred Lutjeans) Museums these days are in the content creation space: From MOCAtv to the obligatory museum blog to the iPad apps put out by the Metropolitan Museum of Art — for better or worse, it’s about more than just publishing a scholarly catalog with a section of color-printed plates. Lately the Laguna Art Museum has entered the multimedia fray with a series of documentary films by Dale Schierholt entitled “California Masters.” The first of these, “Tony DeLap: A Unique Perspective,”...

01 July, 2014 /

I know a concert was good when every time I try to sit down and write my review of it, I get distracted by composing music myself instead. This was most gloriously true of the Children of Bodom concert at the Observatory in Santa Ana on March 2, supported by Tyr and Death Angel. Even though I love the word, I reserve it only for special occasions like this one- fuck… Children of Bodom were so fucking good. That does sum it up, but I...

09 March, 2014 /

The landscape-painting industry has had a hold on Laguna Beach for so long that the very idea of landscape in the resort town by the sea is inevitably fraught with cliché, but Thursday night's art walk provided some fresh perspectives on the genre with the work of two master painters at the Laguna Art Museum and the photography of Tom Lamb at Forest & Ocean Gallery. [caption id="attachment_5729" align="alignleft" width="254"] Wayne Thiebaud's Waterland, 1996, oil on canvas[/caption] Wayne Thiebaud, raised in Long Beach and still painting at...

09 March, 2014 /

Friday, MARCH 7 is the big annual Art Walk anniversary event taking place at the Fullerton Museum Plaza. Fullerton Art venues come together this one night to celebrate local life and art! Fullerton has been voted one of the top 3 best downtown areas in Orange County, and understandably so! With new boutiques, restaurants, bars, galleries and artist dens popping up around every corner, this small downtown area has become one of the best artistic communities in Orange County. Over the past few years, Fullerton has...

28 February, 2014 /

It is common enough to be considered a universal experience, taking place within the realms of childhood, that when the sun goes down the imagination has full reign. The shadows that exist in closets or under the bed become dense, so much so that anything a little person could possibly imagine could exist within them. Eventually our brains become trained through experience that nothing need exist out of nothing and that the world provides us plenty to think about without the aid of our imaginations....

01 February, 2014 /

What do you do if you are a respected gallery owner and a highly anticipated show looks like it won’t come to fruition just one week before the opening? If you're Peter Blake you somehow pull together three solo shows of leading LA-based contemporary artists, within days of the opening event. On Saturday night at the Peter Blake Gallery in Laguna Beach ­­it appeared as if this was the plan all along: the shows were as flawlessly put together as we have come to expect...

30 January, 2014 /

The second wave feminists of the 1960s famously coined the phrase "the personal is political". This is true of a vast number of issues, yet often times the very personal impact of political policies gets lost in the furious debates about fiscal impacts of laws or the hypothetical scenarios debated on television talk shows. At a time when immigration issues are hotly debated topic in United States politics, art can be a powerful tool that helps us connect to the personal stories within this multifaceted...

29 January, 2014 /

Tis’ the Season for the December OC Art Walks! This month we highlight some of the special events at each location including openings, receptions, books signings and parties (Fullerton is looking pretty lively this month). Get out there, have some fun, see some art and tell us where the best eggnog is: Text by Natasha Shah, graphic by Jared Millar...

05 December, 2013 /

Orange County has solid museums, vibrant artists and several local art scenes, yet the cultural footprint of art in the community remains pretty shallow. Residents don’t venture too far from their neighborhood and the idea of a gallery event as part of an interesting night out doesn’t resonate with younger generations. So what’s missing? How can we break through suburban inertia and make the OC art scene something bigger?  Alex Amador, owner of the new 4,500 square foot DAX Gallery, thinks he has the answer. Amador believes...

13 November, 2013 /

For November's Art Walk we feature three galleries that are elevating the Laguna Beach gallery scene (and one honorable mention) by exhibiting art and artists that stand out amongst the typical Orange County fare. Since the galleries are spread out along the coast we chose one  to represent North, Central, and South Laguna (maps and gallery descriptions below). The current theme in Laguna Beach is Art & Nature though the artists we saw fused nature with industry or technology by using found objects, digital manipulation or mixing natural...

11 November, 2013 /

Written by Jared Millar It was around 1976 that Philip K. Dick moved into a third-story condominium on Civic Center Drive just east of downtown Santa Ana, living and writing there until dying of a massive stroke just months before the release of the Ridley Scott-directed Blade Runner, the first in a long run of Hollywood adaptations of his novels and stories ...

02 November, 2013 /

It’s that time again! The OC Art Walks are happening the first week of November. To help you celebrate after Halloween check out our OC Art Blog guide to the Orange County Art Walks (since October 31st falls on a Thursday Laguna Beach art walk is next week). Street maps for each of the walks with our highlights are below, let us know where you went and tell us some of your favorites.   OC ART BLOG ART WALK GUIDE More information and our photos from the October art...

29 October, 2013 /