Features

“Know Your Why”: Lessons from Out of the Picture and a Panel on Criticism’s Future

Sep 12, 2025 | 0 Comments

By Chris Hoff This week I attended a screening of "Out of The Picture" at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in Los Angeles. The documentary "Out of The Picture" chronicles the decline of arts criticism over a several year period culminating during COVID years. The movie, featuring many of the more prominent art critics, documents the accelerated change in arts writing over the last several years. A story we are all quite familiar with now. Except for a short mention of some...

Wendy Park’s Of Our Own at Various Small Fires, Tustin

Jun 24, 2025 | 0 Comments

By Tyler Stallings Wendy Park, 90’s Compton Swap Meet, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 144 in. Photo by Tyler Stallings, courtesy of Various Small Fires. Wendy Park’s Of Our Own, currently on view at Various Small Fires in Tustin, translates personal and collective memory into a visual language that is both formal and affectionate, conceptual and accessible. In this suite of seven acrylic paintings, Park resurrects the atmospheres of Korean-American swap meets, household rituals, and urban...

A Visit to Cornelius Projects

Feb 23, 2022 | 0 Comments

By Meg Linton Daniel Porras, Distraction and Diversion with Direction, 2020, oil on canvas, 44”x33.5” As things are opening back up, yet again, I’ve been venturing out to look at art. I wound up in San Pedro and discovered Cornelius Projects, a contemporary art space run by artist and curator Laurie Steelink who shines a light on artists living and/or working in this seaside community located on Tongva Territory. The current exhibition on view through March 26, 2022 is called DUST & WISPS...

Thinking Critically About NFT’s

Feb 17, 2022 | 0 Comments

By Chris Hoff Nothing is true and everything is possible. – Peter Pomerantsev At this juncture, I don’t think there are many artists now that haven’t heard about a Beeple NFT going for $69 million, or a large series of arguably mediocre illustrations of a bored ape having a price of entry of 52 ether, or $210,000. I imagine this sort of news has many an artist, isolated away in their studios, wondering how they get a piece of the action and what this might mean for their careers? I also...

Ask a therapist

Feb 6, 2022 | 0 Comments

Q: I'm an introverted artist and it seems that the art world awards extroversion. Meaning people that are out all the time at openings and artist talks networking are more successful. How can I move from being introverted to extroverted? My career depends on it! Dear Fellow Traveler, Want to know a secret? I’m terrified of public speaking. The pounding heart, the drunk-dizzy-sweating-profusely kind of afraid that grips me in a vice and paralyzes me. Eventually, I somehow pull from the...

Artist Interview: Albert Lopez, Jr.

Jan 21, 2022 | 0 Comments

By Walpa D'Mark I attended Albert Lopez Jr’s show at Crear Studio on September 4, 2021. It might seem like it’s a little too late to be talking about it, but the exhibition had many layers, and eventually it led me to think about Albert’s creative process. Full disclosure, I know Albert, we both attended Cal State Long Beach in the late 90’s, and I worked for him at OCMA in the 2010’s. Albert’s show at Crear Studio, titled “The Dollar Dance I Never Had!” featured works from different periods...

OC Curator Spotlight: Maurizzio Hector Pineda & S/A Exhibitions

Jul 14, 2021 | 0 Comments

I recently had the opportunity to visit another exciting new space in Orange County, S/A Exhibitions. S/A Exhibitions is a nonprofit space headed up by curator Maurizzio Hector Pineda. Mr. Pineda background includes receiving his undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2000. From 2001-2005 he was the owner and director of SWYS Gallery in Long Beach, CA, and has worked at the Santa Monica Museum of Art and for Regen Project in Beverly Hills. His...

Gallery Spotlight: Kennedy Contemporary

Jul 5, 2021 | 0 Comments

There is a new gallery in town. Kennedy Contemporary is based in Newport Beach and showcases emerging and established artists. Headed by Victoria Kennedy, who has strong roots in Orange County, her new gallery intends to break down traditional barriers by focusing on accessibility and connecting collectors with art that will enrich their lives. The Kennedy team also will support the community at large, by hosting educational events, partnering with nonprofits, and offering consultation...

Walking the Path: A studio visit with Jimi Gleason

May 24, 2021 | 0 Comments

As artists, we strive to find a deeper understanding of art through the experience of making. And as artists we continually search for how we can fit into the conversation of art that has continued for thousands of years. To better understand how we work, and how we can get closer to where we need to be can be a lifelong journey. A journey that has taken artist Jimi Gleason from Orange County to San Francisco, to New York, and back again. He certainly hasn’t been...

Artist to Artist: In gallery conversation with Jordan Christian.

Apr 12, 2021 | 1 Comment

By Joel Woodard Jordan Christian just wrapped up his latest solo exhibition at the F+ Gallery in Santa Ana. F+ has been in business for 9 years at the Santiago Street Art Lofts (one of the few remaining art galleries there). Situated just down the street from the Santa Ana train station, the Lofts also sit just blocks away from Logan Creative, where Jordan Christian and F+ owner Micah Kersh first met. At that time Jordan was working out of Logan Creative. These days he’s working out of his...

ask a therapist

Mar 2, 2021 | 0 Comments

Question--How should artists not freak out when they are barely getting by with money issues and then they get huge bills for unforeseen medical or auto issues? This is very stressful to me. Dear Fellow Traveler, My elementary school art teacher was named Fred Bremmer. I don’t know how he felt about teaching art to kids, or if in his non-teaching time he sculpted, wrote screen plays, painted with watercolors, or was an actor with supreme range. I don’t know if he worried about paying...

DON’T DITCH THE O.C.

Feb 19, 2021 | 0 Comments

By Mat Gleason Growing up on the county line revealed little difference between Orange County and Los Angeles County but illustrated the frisson of borders nonetheless. There was a place called “The Ditch” which was an open sewage channel that stunk but had great dirt hills to ride bikes. Located just beyond the fence in the back of Buena Park’s Big Tee Golf Course, was it in Orange County or Los Angeles County? When La Mirada residents rose up to complain of the stench, L.A. County said,...

Ask a therapist: I’m Stuck!

Feb 16, 2021 | 0 Comments

Q: With COVID and all, I have felt stuck for a year now. What can I do to get unstuck? Dear Fellow Traveler, The word stuck typically brings images to my mind of being five years old, venturing out into a deliciously dirty, mostly dried-up creek behind my house—and in my quest for fun not noticing nighttime raindrops had created a form of muck, which snatched a flip flop from my foot, swallowing it whole. Ah, well I’ll abandon it there, I’ll be barefoot and free! What’s the point in...

Enchanted Expression: The Art of Cody Jimenez

Oct 26, 2020 | 0 Comments

Have you ever had a moment where you felt connected to an animal? Where you looked deep into its eyes and felt a sort of mutual understanding? Like, you exist with them and not just near them? Have you ever felt an internal pull toward a special crystal or rock formation? Has the color of a fire or a sunset reached into your soul and just stopped you dead in your tracks for a moment? Artist Cody Jimenez has the uncanny ability of catching those moments, among other extraordinary instances and...

Art and Activism: How Environmental Art Projects Helped Save Laguna Beach

Oct 19, 2020 | 1 Comment

“The Walk to Save the Canyon” occurred in Laguna Beach on November 11, 1989. For that happening, 9,000-11,000 people walked four miles from the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts into Laguna Canyon, expressing their desire to preserve that greenbelt. The activities leading to The Walk, the event itself, the subsequent demonstration and the result from these activities — all preventing construction of a massive housing project within the canyon — are legendary tales among long-time Lagunans. ...

The Jazzy and Vibrant World of Priscilla Moreno

Oct 13, 2020 | 0 Comments

Imagine a bright and colorful world where light pippy jazz is always playing, an assortment of soothing scents casually linger in the air, the weather is never not pleasant, and the diverse and eclectic people all around you are upbeat and friendly… This world is at your fingertips, thanks to the immersive art and design of Priscilla Moreno. A SoCal native, Moreno grew up in Los Angeles, but now calls Long Beach home. She is a full-time artist, and has shown her vibrant and fun artwork...

“Art Along the Coast” Highlights Local Artists But Lacks Diversity of Art and People

Sep 21, 2020 | 0 Comments

Last month, over thirty artists from the 2020 Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach opened their private art studios and gallery venues for visitors to take a no-cost, self-guided journey through the Orange County coast in an event called “Art Along the Coast.” For two consecutive weekends, artists from San Clemente to Santa Ana shared their new art as well as works in progress to locals looking to support and connect with the art scene in their community. This was a great opportunity for both...

The Unknown Lands of Artists in Love: “Terra Incognita” @ OCCCA

Aug 31, 2020 | 0 Comments

We know that reality is a construct and artistic expression is an attempt to relay one’s interpretation of that construct. Perception is everything—it is personal, how the world is viewed through one's eyes, and no two people can truly perceive reality the same way, even if those two people happen to be romantic partners. Currently, the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA) is hosting an exhibition called “Terra Incognita,” which explores this concept by showcasing various works by...

Making Magic in Moments: An Interview with Installation Artist Olga Lah

Aug 17, 2020 | 0 Comments

Climbing the walls and growing on the floor like a mold in various colors or stages of propagation, pill bottle caps encased a gallery space, bringing awareness to the spread of addiction to pharmaceuticals and its similarity to the growth of bacteria. I stumbled on this installation in 2012 as a part of the Huntington Beach Art Center’s “Escape from the Landfill” exhibition and was immediately enamored and enthralled by the power of this Long Beach-based installation artist, Olga Lah. Lah’s...

The 2020 Festival of Arts Starts a New Chapter for this 88-Year-Old OC Tradition

Aug 10, 2020 | 0 Comments

Paradise for SoCal art lovers during summertime is usually Laguna Beach. With three art festivals, the Pageant of the Masters, many art galleries displaying their treasures and rotating exhibitions at Laguna Art Museum, the city has been a garden of earthly delights for decades. Of course, this summer is different. The throngs of art-viewing tourists and residents — along with local artists eager to talk about and sell their work — are replaced by quiet streets and empty art venues, thanks to...

The OC Art Blog was created in 2004 as a way to build community and promote the marginalized but dynamic Orange County art scene.

Awakening: Moncho at Gallery Sonder

Jun 2, 2026

By Mason Fujikawa Awakening at Gallery Sonder is the first exhibition in the United States by Mexican artist Moncho. Moncho takes an instinctive approach to his practice. He doesn’t sketch or even plan before painting. Instead, he draws from his subconscious, working...

Low and Slow at Danger Gallery

May 28, 2026

By Alisa Ochoa Low and Slow is on view at House of Danger Gallery, nestled in an unassuming shopping center just off the 55, beside a Circle K and below the Attic Skateshop. The space is operated by Jackie Danger, a visual artist and brand strategist who opened the...

On Creativity, Constraints, and Staying Alive to the World

May 24, 2026

By Chris Hoff I’ve been messing around with learning to play guitar for as long as I can remember. It’s been a story of starts and stops for years. In a more recent start I picked up the book How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy. I thought it might provide some...

Art Confronts Infrastructure in UC Irvine Langson OCMA

May 24, 2026

By Maggie Luy What shifts when the ground beneath everyday life begins to move? Infrastructure is usually what disappears first. In “Breakdown/Breakthrough: Art and Infrastructure," it stayed exposed. The exhibition, on view at UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum...

Legacies Come Alive, Spring Blooms at Irvine Fine Arts Center

Apr 8, 2026

By Maggie Luy What does it mean to be remembered, and who gets to be seen? Through textured brushwork and carved forms, Sergio O’Cadiz Moctezuma honors labor and ancestry. That legacy continues in Edgar Fabián Frías’s layered digital collages and psychedelic video...