Southern California is arguably the hottest art spot in the country now and Orange County, with three million people, was able to display the depths of its talent in Laguna Art Museum’s biennial survey, OsCene 2006: Contemporary Art and Culture in OC. By spotlighting the often underestimated art of the county, The OsCene serves as a counterpoint to the Orange County Museum of Art’s broader themed 2006 California Biennial that runs concurrently with The OsCene 2006.

When the first OsCene (a combination of the phrases “OC” and “scene,” and pronounced o-seen) was organized in 2004, it had been over twenty years since a survey exhibition of contemporary art in Orange County had been organized by a museum. 2006’s survey included painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, multi-media installations, video/film, fashion, and kustom kulture.