The Orange County Center for Contemporary Art Presents "Deep" A Juried Show

Written by Owen Watersmith Saturday, 07 May 2011 21:03

Orange County, CA.- From May 5th until June 25th, the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art is showing "Deep", a juried show of new contemporary art. Deep is an exhibition by artists who persist in trying to express the intangible, creating work for which no simple explanation suffices. With existential landscapes, angst-filled portraits, feverish abstractions, arcane conceptual constructions, philosophical photographs, seductive ceramics and sculptures, self-reflexive videos, heady performances, esoteric installations, and internet-based New Media explorations, the artists in Deep are fearless in the face of the infinite, unafraid of introspection. And sometimes Deep is funny! Deep is a riddle, an enigma, a plunge into the unknown.

The exhibition is curated by Grace Kook-Anderson, who received her B.A. in Art History (2000) and Art Practice (2001) from the University of California, Berkeley, and received her M.A. in Curatorial Practice (2007) from the California College of the Arts, San Francisco. She is a co-founder of InSitu, a curatorial collaborative (2007-present). Her curatorial projects focus on contemporary art with an emphasis on the investigation of place and social change. At Laguna Art Museum, Kook-Anderson has curated WoW: Emergent Media Phenomenon; OsCene 2010; Jeremy Fish: Weathering the Storm; Sean Duffy: Searcher; and is the coordinating curator for Best Kept Secret: UCI and the Development of Contemporary Art in Southern California, 1964-1971 in conjunction with the Pacific Standard Time initiative. Describing the entries, Kook-Anderson said "It was a great pleasure to serve as this year’s juror for OCCCA’s DEEP exhibition.

With over 800 submissions, I had the opportunity and challenge to review a diverse amount of works. Because of the wealth of submissions, I enjoyed seeing a variety of artistic practices which led me to focus my selections toward a more contemporary viewpoint. Organizations like OCCCA are deeply important to the local community as well as to the community of artists it acknowledges. I would like to congratulate the artists recognized in this exhibition as well as to thank all the artists that have taken the time to submit their works this year. The occasion to be a juror for OCCCA has been a wonderful opportunity and I am grateful to have been selected".

The Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA) is an artist operated California non-profit corporation dedicated to the pursuit of professional excellence and freedom of expression in the arts. Since it's inception in 1980, it has provided emerging and established member and guest artists a forum to explore and develop ideas in contemporary art in an atmosphere that promotes experimentation and risk-taking, but without the specter of censorship. In addition, OCCCA develops and actively participates in public educational, outreach and community art services. Located in the heart of Santa Ana's Artist Village, OCCCA presents a variety of free programs: Films, Forums, Eclectic Company concerts and First Saturday artist receptions. OCCCA began through the vision of its five founding members, Richard Aaron, Robert Cunningham, Suvan Geer, Alhena Scott, and Carol Stella. The inaugural exhibition, in September of 1980, featured Slator Barron, George Herms, and Dustin Shuler. OCCCA has continued to function as a nurturing showplace for emerging and mid career member artists from the Orange County area. In addition to members work, OCCCA strives to exhibit a variety of artists work from all media and career levels from emerging through established late career artists. Affiliate members participate in all aspects of professional art practice, including design and installation of exhibitions, public relations/publicity, curatorial, accounting, grant and proposal writing, gallery sitting, facilities maintenance, etc.

In its 30 year history, with a membership roster limited to 40 through its current by-laws, OCCCA has exhibited over 800 guest artists and held numerous solo, group and juried shows that have showcased more than 6,000 participants. Affiliate members have shown in more than 600 one-person shows and 300 group exhibitions. In addition, the organization has a long tradition of mounting non-member exhibition and performance projects, and inviting outside curators to organize shows. Over the years, the scope of OCCCA's programming has expanded to include collaborative and exchange projects with other venues throughout the United States and overseas. With the generous assistance and support of the City of Santa Ana, OCCCA was granted title and moved to its current 6,300 square-foot facility. Ownership and member management and control of our gallery makes OCCCA unique in the world of non-profit arts organizations. In the past six years OCCCA has extended its international reach. The new facility has enabled the planning of more ambitious large-scale projects most notably those in the new media areas. Visit the OCCCA's website at ... http://www.occca.org

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