Los Angeles, CA Okay, so the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA is not technically in the Orange County, but everybody who's anybody was at this monster of an event! And you have to believe that OC Art Blog Followers were not going to miss out on this "members only" premiere. Art in The Streets is a huge milestone for street art as a whole, and for Los Angeles street art specifically. This event will go down in history. The first giant museum exhibit of street art from beginning to end. The...
Openings
Katy Betz MFA Exhibition: Creating Space for Imagination…
Katy Betz is back again to take you to a place where your mind can run loose and play! Last time we spoke with Katy, she shared with us her creative process and why it is important for her to create space for imagination (Click here to read our interview with her). She shared with me her upcoming MFA show awhile back and I'm excited to share with you that it is finally here-- this Saturday! With her credo as the title of this exhibition, Katy takes her paintings on an investigation into the...
Brandon Boyd and the spectacle
Brandon Boyd wrap-around wall mural at the )( Space gallery in Costa Mesa, on view now until April 15th, 2011 (photo by Joanna Grasso) There I was, Friday morning, hitting the road. I was flying back to the OC just in time to catch the much anticipated Brandon Boyd exhibition at the Hurley )( Space gallery. That's right, another collaboration between the local surf and clothing mega company and a high profile artist. I say much anticipated, but that is because only after researching...
BRANDON BOYD Opening at the Hurley )( Space Gallery
Don't miss a chance to meet artist, musician, surfer and activist BRANDON BOYD. (yes, that is the very same Boyd from rock band INCUBUS) Brandon Boyd working on drawing selected for H.O.P.E. & Hurley collaboration (image provided by Hurley) Another Collaboration for HURLEY - This time they are working with Brandon Boyd and H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Everywhere) to raise funds and bring awareness to conserving our oceans. If you haven't taken a walk on the...
If you heart lowbrow art: Suggestivism now up @ Grand Central Art Center
Santa Ana-Recently, I attended the much-anticipated opening of Suggestivism at the Grand Central Art Center in downtown Santa Ana. Beautiful ladies in hooded onesies (I did not know they existed either) paraded around the galleries serving chocolates and energy drinks throughout the night. Many of the artists attended and Academy award-nominated actress Amy Adams also made an appearance. Grand Central always knows how to throw a party!...
Dalek – Psych Optic Black Light Fuzz Part 2
PSYCHOPTICBLACKLIGHTFUZZ PART II @ Hurley's )( Space Gallery, Costa Mesa When I arrived at Hurley, it was dark and filled with people. I dragged my empty stomach and avoided walking straight into the catering refreshment on the left. I murmured to myself, "Don't stare at the food in the eye. Look away..." I saw many people stood in front of the Dreamachine, a metallic cylinder with laser cut designs placed on a turntable, with their eyes closed. My curiosity got the best of me, so I...
Adventures in Irvine
Last night Jennifer Cheng and I visited four of UCI's numerous galleries. It was opening night for CULT OF THE RUIN: STRATEGIES OF ACCUMULATION in the University Art Gallery (UAG) & Room Gallery in the art department. This group show presented works from emerging artists working largely in the conceptual realm hinged on art critic Craig Owen's ideas of transience and fragmentation via allegorical referents utilized in...
Downtown Anaheim Art District
Opening Reception this week & - Art Crawl Experience (ACE) FEB 12, 5-11pm & there is still time to get involved!! Check out the hoping downtown Anaheim's art district. This weekend Rothick Art Haus will be presenting a new show "Subtle Nudges" on Saturday night. In February Christina Sanchez's Le Modern Trinket will be participating in the Art Crawl Experience (ACE) Indie Arts and Crafts Fair on Feb 12th, 5-11pm with live music, food, and of course ART!...
Opening Reception at All Media 2010 and Bill Jaros Exhibition
I arrived at the opening reception just in time to hear the last part of the award ceremony presented by Karen Moss, the Deputy Director of Exhibition and Programs in Orange County Museum of Art. There were a lot of people with their family and friends, taking pictures and meeting artists to get more insight into their artwork. I’ve never been to Irvine Fine Arts Center before, but I surprised myself because this gallery was voted as the Best Art Gallery in Orange County by OC Weekly. Artist...
So-cal artist judges books by their cover
Mike Stilkey, Untitled Installation of 4,400 books and paint (photos by Alyssa Cordova )Artist Mike Stilkey, far rightSo-cal artist judges books by their covers Good news! In case you missed Costa Mesa’s )( Space Gallery’s inaugural exhibition, Reminiscent: Mike Stilkey, it has been reinstalled in the Hurley creative retail space in Laguna Beach just in time for their one year...
Jeff Gillette @ CoproGallery in Santa Monica
Longtime OC local Jeff Gillette's (aka Laurie Hassold's other half) show 'Dismayland' will be opening this Saturday at the CoproGallery in Santa Monica. If you're in LA-LA land this weekend go check it out. Congrats Jeff! -Joanna
R.Crumb Opening @ GCAC
Here they are folks, Mike McGee & Andrea Harris-McGee and Mr. OC Art Blog Saturday night at the Crumb opening in Downtown Santa Ana.
2332 Opening at HBAC
I completely missed the opening for this show. I had a previous engagement in L.A. last night. But thank you (once again) to my friend Susie Eaton. Because of her I have pictures of the opening reception to share with all of you. She sent me so many good once, I couldn't decide which ones to edit out. So I said, heck, I'll do my usual Flickr slideshow.So right now I'm just living vicariously through Susie's pictures. The ball game looked like it was a lot of fun. The show...
Shirtless With Leather Pants
Since I have a bit of free time post MOCA and Little Pharma, I decided to take a trip down to Pomona to visit my friends Susie Eaton and Juan Thorp over at Bunny Gunner. Susie used to be a staple in Santa Ana, but now resides in the Art Colony.Currently, they have a show up of new work by Amy Maloof. I missed the opening on Saturday night because I had to be at Fringe Exhibitions for our opening. I think Amy's work is incredibly smart and fun. Everytime I turn around, she comes up with...
2332
2332 opens at the Huntington Beach Art Center tomorrow night, October 17th. The baseball-themed show features works by Stuart Allen, Travis Collinson, Dean De Cocker, Matthew Furmanski, Jimi Gleason, Robert Jacka, Ian M. Kennelly, Juan Thorp, and Michael Woodcock. From what my friend Juan Thorp told me, they will be playing a game of whiffle ball around 5pm. Go out there, have some fun, and play ball!--James
Strange Places, Familiar Places
Here's something to check out this Friday night. The group show Strange Places, Familiar Places opens at Go Rilla! Gallery in Santa Ana. 7-9pm 7-10pm. Have fun!--James
GLAMFA 2008
My friends and I thought that some of the works in this year's GLAMFA aren't as good as last year's. I don't know if anyone agrees. However, that's just our opinion. We did have a couple of favorites. Particularly the Paris internet meter. Hiltion of France. Well, you get the idea.--James
Animal Magnetism
So this is where I ended up last night. In Santa Ana. I don't think I can do a night like this again for quite awhile. Four nights of art openings this week is a bit much if you ask me.So after OCCCA, my friends and I ended up getting some dinner at Memphis. The Pomona's Art Colonists ended up joining us for some conversations and drinks. Fun were had by all.--James
Aspects of Mel’s Hole
--James
Dean Sameshima @ Peres Projects
I'm a fan of Sameshima. Everytime I see his work I always think that they are really smart.The show is called Numbers II (Ode to Johnny Rio).Numbers is John Rechy's second novel. The hero is young, handsome, narcissistic Johnny Rio who, after three years away from the "scene," is impelled, obsessively, to return to the city of Los Angeles, there to test himself anew in the arena of male love. Johnny, who is seen as an angel of dark sex, is like a retired boxer--an undefeated...
The OC Art Blog was created in 2004 as a way to build community and promote the marginalized but dynamic Orange County art scene.
Latest Posts
The Sound of Silence: Orange County Art Institutions and the ICE Question
Where Are Our Museums When Communities Need Them? Last Friday, major art institutions across Minneapolis, the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Science Museum of Minnesota, Museum of Russian Art, and others, closed their doors in solidarity with a...
Memory as Resistance: Art Leaders Defend Culture in Authoritarian Times
JANM Symposium on Democracy, January 23, 2026 At the Japanese American National Museum's symposium "Echoes of History: Inspiring Civic Action and Building Democracy," a panel of cultural leaders gathered to discuss an increasingly urgent question: What is the role of...
Grand Central Art Center Awarded Prestigious Warhol Foundation Grant
Grand Central Art Center Awarded Prestigious Warhol Foundation Grant. As part of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Fall 2025 grant cycle, Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana has been selected alongside 56 other arts organizations nationwide to receive...
What If Orange County Artists Thought Like Corporations (In the Best Possible Way)?
Notes on Yancey Strickler, Metalabel, and the Future of Collective Creative Power There's a quiet but growing subculture of artists, organizers, and creative misfits who are experimenting with a strange question: What if artists borrowed the structure and scale of...
A Walk Through Art Basel Paris
Join Chris Hoff of the OC Art Blog as he navigates the visual overload of Art Basel Paris, where thousands of works compete for attention in a spectacle of color, concept, and commerce. Amid the noise, he searches for, and finds, a piece that stops him in his tracks....
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