Santa Ana, CA. Downtown Santa Ana Artist’s Village gets a kick in the contemporary art butt with newest creative addition, Grand Central Art Center’s (GCAC) new Director and Chief Curator, John Spiak. Spiak is a whirlwind of creative energies, and his expertise in Relational Aesthetics and Social Practice are giving the Artist’s Village a transformative new take on the art scene in Orange County. Spiak is bringing in artists from all over the world, to engage and exchange with the Orange...
Emulex Corporation is usually a computer parts manufacturer based in Orange County, but this year Emulex has taken an interest in spreading their wealth-- with their never-ending supply of creative materials, otherwise known as e-waste, and their passion for Orange County art, this computer parts company has partnered up with Cal State Fullerton to create The Art of Convergence, a sculpture competition featuring Emulex parts and products and CSUF sculpture students. The Art of...
Deciding to devote your life to making music or another artistic endeavor has probably always been a difficult decision that entailed making some personal sacrifices. These days the decision to pursue music feels particularly hard, because while technology makes it so we can easily write, record and put music out on the internet, there are seemingly less ways to earn money through songwriting. While I am a firm believer that we should always follow our passions because it makes us live our...
The concepts of war and fashion are seemingly disparate but in Andriy Halashyn’s oil paintings at SALT Fine Art in Laguna Beach soldiers and fashion models seamlessly co-exist on one canvas. In the aptly named War and Fashion series Halashyn cleverly fuses the imagery of combat and vogue into a single scene. The two are merged so naturally the deceptively cheery paintings create tension as the viewer tries to reconcile how the two can exist together. And yet, they do. Living in the United...
San Antonio, TX. At the 2012 SSCA annual conference, this year held in The Alamo City, San Antonio, three Orange County writers were shocked and amazed by this fascinating and artistic city! Who would have thought that The Alamo City had good art! Ok, maybe Los Angeles and Orange County have warped my mind into forgetting about the other states outside of New York and California for art in America, but I stand corrected! Texas definitely has art. With a slew of public sculptures that brighten...
Joe Sorren's paintings remind me of the sweetness of the simple moments in life, like a flower covered in dew sparkling in the sun or a child quietly playing in a garden. We have to intentionally stop being mentally absorbed in the incessant activities of our lives, to mindfully notice these sweet and movingly beautiful moments happening before our eyes everyday. Going to see Sorren's paintings on display feels like this. Like a visit to a park just to lay down on the grass and stare at the...
Pacific Standard Time is closing at the end of this month and with Southern California artists on the mind OCMA is continuing the trend with a large exhibition dedicated to Richard Diebenkorn’s Ocean Park Series. The body of work spans over two decades (1967-1988) and is named after Diebenkorn’s studio in the Ocean Park neighborhood of Santa Monica where the abstract expressionist works were created. The comprehensive OCMA exhibit encompasses eight galleries with approximately 80 works (the...
The OC Art Blog is hosting a re-launch party for it’s website in the back room of Memphis at the Santora on Saturday April 7th from 7-10PM during the Santa Ana Art Walk. The OC Art Blog is dedicated to the Orange County art community and has re-launched with a new format, new features and new writers. Enjoy drinks, appetizers, art by Suzanne Walsh, Sarah Walsh, Joy Shannon and Natasha Shah all while learning more about the new OC Art Blog. The OC Art Blog was started in 2004 to build community...
Los Angeles, CA At the 100th Annual CAA Conference in downtown Los Angeles, I got a chance to sit and listen to a panel of women that could impress even the most haughty of elite art folks with their hard work, dedication, and professional experience. Among these women, Carrie Yury knocked my socks off with her helpful advice and personal experience in the art world. Carrie Yury, a professor at CSUF, an occasional writer for Artillery Magazine, and a creative photographer, and art world...
The OC Art Blog was created in 2004 as a way to build community and promote the marginalized but dynamic Orange County art scene.
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The OC Art Blog was thrilled to sit down with Jennifer Frias, the dynamic Director and Curator of the College of the Arts Galleries at Cal State Fullerton. At the intersection of pedagogy, place, and practice, Frias is quietly reshaping the curatorial...
Heidi Zuckerman, CEO and Director of the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA), will step down at the end of 2025, marking a significant leadership transition for one of Southern California’s most ambitious contemporary art institutions.Since arriving in early 2021,...
By Tyler StallingsAt the Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana, the mundane elevator is transformed into a liminal chamber of longing in To Be Among Friends, a collaboration between artist and sound designer Joshua-Michéle Ross and typographic textile artist Hope...
By Tyler StallingsCelebrating its 45th anniversary, the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA) affirms its status as a bastion of experimental, socially engaged, and community-rooted art, showcasing over 70 former and current OCCCA artists. OCCCA’s 45th...
By Tyler StallingsFor decades, Carole Caroompas relentlessly pursued a vision that fused punk aesthetics, feminist critique, and literary excavation. With her passing in 2022, the full extent of her artistic reach is only beginning to be reckoned with. Heathcliff and...
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