uci art | OC Art Blog

Is Contemporary Art in Orange County Threatened by the New UCI-OCMA Merger?

Jun 11, 2025 | 0 Comments

By Chris Hoff, OC Art Blog The recent announcement that UC Irvine will take over operations of the Orange County Museum of Art marks a major shift in the region’s cultural landscape. According to the Orange County Business Journal, this move is being framed as a strategic partnership but for those of us who have followed the local art scene closely, the news raises as many questions as it answers. On the surface, it’s a significant step: a major university assuming control of the county’s only...

Barbara Berk: An Artist Quietly in the Making

Mar 18, 2023 | 2 Comments

Barbara Berk, 2000 Revolutions, 2000. Graphite on wall, tape player and recorder, slides, projector. 84” diameter. Performed at Riverside Art Museum. Barbara Berk is a curious, quiet maker who has been an active participant in the Southern California art scene for over forty years. Since 1983, she has consistently shown or performed her work in solo and group exhibitions at many of the distinguished university and college art galleries as well as numerous institutions like the Laguna Art...

Friction Skin: Alberto Lule at CREAR Studio

Aug 30, 2022 | 0 Comments

By Chris Hoff The skin found on the tips of our fingers, is known as friction skin. Left behind fingerprints are not visible to the naked eye so they must be made visible in some way. This is the utility of fingerprint powder, it makes the invisible, visible. In the new show at CREAR Studio titled Detain & Displace. The powerful work of Alberto Lule makes use of the medium used against him, fingerprint powder, and makes the invisible, visible as well. To great effect. Alberto Lule at CREAR...

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

Daisy Chain Fields Sets Bigger ‘Expectations’

Sep 6, 2026

By Maggie Luy Paper decor fluttered overhead as baby doll dresses and flower crowns filled the crowd. Women-owned vendors lined the walkways as festivalgoers moved through the sunlight, surrounded by bursts of color and music. That vibrant atmosphere captured...

The Tipping Point: Einar and Jamex de la Torre at the Laguna Art Museum

Aug 26, 2026

By Mason Fujikawa The Tipping Point is a two-story installation at the Laguna Art Museum by Einar and Jamex de la Torre. The de la Torre brothers, glassblowers by trade, are prolific mixed-media artists who have exhibited internationally for over thirty years. Born in...

42nd Irvine Annual Takes a Closer Look

Aug 10, 2026

By Maggie Luy Take another step and lean in. Ordinary objects reveal deeper stories than they first appear to hold. From delicate threads woven into a portrait to bold images capturing moments of social change, the 42nd Irvine Annual transforms familiar...

Nothing But Net: From Hoop Dreams to Art Scenes at Great Park Gallery

Jul 14, 2026

By Maggie Luy Where does the game end, and the art begin? A basketball court is usually defined by rules and competition. In “GAME! Basketball and Contemporary Art,” that definition expands as the court becomes a surface for design and intervention. The...

The Machine in the Studio: OC Artists and Gallerists Reckon with AI

Jun 12, 2026

By Chris Hoff There’s a particular kind of vertigo that comes with watching a technology arrive faster than the culture can metabolize it. Photographers felt it in the 1840s. Painters felt it again when Photoshop showed up. Now it’s AI’s turn, and the stakes feel...