As part of its suite of opening exhibitions, OCMA is reviving the California Biennial. Dating back to 1984, the biennial defined the spirit of the institution for decades, exemplifying the museum’s six-decade history of presenting new developments in contemporary art while identifying emerging artists on the verge of national and international acclaim. Organized by former OCMA curator Elizabeth Armstrong—who curated the California Biennial in 2002, 2004, and 2006—with Essence Harden, Visual Arts Curator at the California African American Museum, and Gilbert Vicario, Chief Curator at the Phoenix Art Museum, the exhibition features 19 artists from across the state. From the high desert to the oceanside of Bolinas and Monterey, and through the dense metropolises of Los Angeles and San Francisco, the collection of artists reflects on California and its unique place in the popular American imagination. Revisiting mythical stories and reimagining California as a changing land, the California Biennial 2022: Pacific Gold presents a set of distinctive voices, ones which question, challenge, and animate the past, while looking to the future.

Artists:

Tanya Aguiñiga, Alex Anderson, Sadie Barnette, Kenturah Davis, Sharon Ellis, James Gobel, Raul Guerrero, Candice Lin, Maria Maea, Narsiso Martinez, Hector Dionicio Mendoza, Alicia McCarthy, Simphiwe Ndzube, Rashaad Newsome, Alicia Piller, Clare Rojas, Svetlana Shigroff, Laurie Steelink, Lily Stockman