Spring always brings a stronger rhythm to the art scene. New exhibitions open, galleries rotate their programming, and museums lean into more ambitious shows while the pace of visitors is still manageable.
This season, a few exhibitions stand out — not just for who they feature, but for how they reflect the broader direction of contemporary and California art.
Andy Moses: Into the Light
Laguna Art Museum
This exhibition focuses on Andy Moses’ large-scale abstract works, known for their fluid compositions and layered color fields. His process — often involving rotating canvases to create movement — gives the work a sense of motion that shifts depending on where you stand.
Running through September, it’s one of the more immersive shows currently on view at the museum, and a strong example of how abstraction continues to evolve within the California art scene.
Frank Cuprien: For the Love of the Sea
Laguna Art Museum
A more historically rooted exhibition, this show centers on Frank Cuprien, one of Laguna Beach’s early influential painters. His work captures the coastline in a way that feels both personal and foundational — less about spectacle, more about observation.
It also ties directly into Laguna’s identity as an artist community, making it one of the more context-driven exhibitions this spring.
The Language of Trees
This group exhibition brings together eight artists whose work draws from nature to explore broader questions about human existence and connection.
The title references research by Canadian forest ecologist Suzanne Simard, whose work revealed that trees communicate through underground fungal networks — often described as the “wood wide web.” That idea carries through the exhibition, where each artist approaches nature not just as subject, but as a system of relationships, memory, and exchange.
The result is a show that feels quieter and more reflective, grounded in observation but layered with meaning.
Ruben Benjamin: After the Dust Settles
Ruben Benjamin’s latest exhibition focuses on what remains after disruption — both physically and emotionally.
The work moves between abstraction and representation, often carrying a sense of stillness that follows movement or change. There’s a restraint to it that makes the details more noticeable, pulling attention toward texture, surface, and atmosphere rather than overt narrative.
It’s a focused, cohesive show that sits well within Gallery Sonder’s broader program of contemporary artists.
