{"id":315581,"date":"2026-05-14T16:19:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T16:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/315581\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T16:19:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T16:19:11","slug":"brea-gallery-is-made-for-enjoying-art-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/315581\/","title":{"rendered":"Brea Gallery is made for enjoying art \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: This is part of a monthly feature on arts and culture offerings in Orange County, which is rich with indoor and outdoor, often inexpensive or even free, options that you might not know about.<\/p>\n

The city of Brea makes sure visitors driving around town know it supports the arts with an extensive public art collection<\/a>, but people may not know its appreciation for contemporary art \u2014 particularly the creative expressions of up-and-coming artists \u2014 can also be discovered within the city\u2019s own gallery.<\/p>\n

\"\u00e2\u0080\u009cRain<\/p>\n

\u201cRain Catcher,\u201d center, by Ruth Santee of Stockton, is part of the \u201cMade in California\u201d exhibit at the Brea Gallery in Brea on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Art<\/p>\n

Art pieces on display at the \u201cMade in California\u201d exhibit at the Brea Gallery in Brea on Friday, May 1, 2026. Pictured, from left, are \u201cFeminine Reflection by Abigail Vargas of Winters, \u201cA Quiet Power,\u201d by Kaleeka Bond of Menifee, and \u201cJose,\u201d by Jose Sanchez of Los Angeles. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Artwork<\/p>\n

Artwork from California artists on display at the \u201cMade in California\u201d exhibit at the Brea Gallery in Brea on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The \u201cMade in California\u201d exhibit at the Brea Gallery in Brea on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Visitors<\/p>\n

Visitors view art at the \u201cMade in California\u201d exhibit at the Brea Gallery in Brea on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The art piece, \u201cNot too sweet,\u201d center, by Doris Rivera of Chino Hills, is made from foam and wool and is on display at the \u201cMade in California\u201d exhibit at the Brea Gallery in Brea on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"\u00e2\u0080\u009cPhagocytosis,\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/p>\n

\u201cPhagocytosis,\u201d center, a mixed-media piece by San Bernardino artist Amanda Santos, is on display at the \u201cMade in California\u201d exhibit at the Brea Gallery in Brea on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Visitors<\/p>\n

Visitors view \u201cMy Saint Sebastian\u201d by Jose Soria at the \u201cMade in California\u201d exhibit at the Brea Gallery in Brea on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Artist<\/p>\n

Artist Jori Jori, of Grass Valley, created this mixed-media soft sculpture titled \u201cThe Spirit of the River,\u201d center, on display at the \u201cMade in California\u201d exhibit at the Brea Gallery in Brea on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The \u201cMade in California\u201d exhibit is currently at the Brea Gallery in Brea on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 10<\/p>\n

\u201cRain Catcher,\u201d center, by Ruth Santee of Stockton, is part of the \u201cMade in California\u201d exhibit at the Brea Gallery in Brea on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

The Brea Gallery, a 6,500-square-foot art space, opened in the Brea Civic and Cultural Center in 1980.<\/p>\n

Just steps from the Brea Mall, the Brea Gallery focuses on contemporary work by living artists and mounts four exhibitions a year, gallery director Katie Chidester said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe mix it up,\u201d Chidester said. \u201cSometimes we bring in a guest curator; sometimes it\u2019s curated in-house by me and the staff \u2014 just depending.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, the gallery\u2019s signature exhibition, running year after year since its early days, is open: \u201cMade in California.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 41st \u201cMade in California\u201d exhibition<\/a>, which features the work of nearly 100 artists, will run through June 28.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just keeps getting bigger every year, which is really exciting,\u201d Chidester said. \u201cWe had 5,000 submissions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The juried exhibition features multiple media and is not organized around a single theme, Chidester said.<\/p>\n

All artists submitting work live in California, and their art has been created within the last three years.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it\u2019s a little bit of everything,\u201d Chidester said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to get a sense of what\u2019s the pulse. We\u2019re really interested in what artists are doing right now, what\u2019s contemporary, what\u2019s present.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gallery\u2019s next exhibition, opening July 31, will be \u201cAmerica 350,\u201d showcasing artists\u2019 reflections of what America will look like in 100 years, forecasting the impacts of technology such as AI and augmented reality.<\/p>\n

The fall exhibition, \u201cWhat Fearful Shadows,\u201d will seek to reimagine \u201ciconic elements of early American horror \u2014 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the Salem Witch Trials, and the works of Edgar Allan Poe \u2014 through the lens of modern culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Fearful Shadows\u201d is scheduled to open Oct. 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe keep calling it the spooky show,\u201d Chidester said.<\/p>\n

The gallery regularly hosts artist-in-residence weekends<\/a> and occasionally holds workshops and classes, Chidester said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get a ton of kids all the time,\u201d she added. \u201cIt\u2019s nice that we\u2019re right here next to the library. We get a lot of foot traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is some really good art in there,\u201d said Michael Trino, a member of the city\u2019s cultural arts commission. \u201cIt\u2019s the curation. You can tell the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

The five-member city commission is directly involved with the cultural arts center, giving guidance on culturally oriented programming.<\/p>\n

And on the way to the Civic Center and Brea Gallery, visitors can tour the nearly 200 pieces of public art beautifying the city\u2019s landscape, ranging from sculptures of individuals who reflect the town\u2019s history to abstract pieces forged from metal that convey an artist\u2019s thoughts. Brea\u2019s Art in Public Places program recently celebrated 50\u00a0 years \u2014 it requires a piece of public art with new developments of $1.5 million or more.<\/p>\n

Also playing a significant role in the Brea Cultural Arts Center is the 199-seat Curtis Theatre.<\/p>\n

The intimate setting puts the audience in close contact with the stage for curated live theater, musicals, and youth theater.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Check it out<\/p>\n

What: Brea Gallery<\/p>\n

Where: 1 Civic Center Circle, Brea; it is on the plaza level of the Brea Civic and Cultural Center at the corner of Birch Street and Randolph Avenue.<\/p>\n

Hours: Noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays<\/p>\n

Admission: $3 general admission<\/p>\n

Information: To learn more about the Brea Gallery, Curtis Theater, get a map of the public art pieces and more, go to cityofbrea.gov\/195\/Brea-Arts<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Editor\u2019s Note: This is part of a monthly feature on arts and culture offerings in Orange County, which…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315582,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,5282,8233,7,179,611,420,136],"class_list":["post-315581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-arts","tag-brea","tag-california","tag-community","tag-orange-county","tag-things-to-do","tag-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/315582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}