The California Biennial, Desperate, Scared, But Social, at the Orange County Museum of Art in Costa Mesa, California, explores adolescence through the lens of 12 artists. The exhibition, which had been on hiatus for several years, returned with a focus on youth culture depicted through photography, painting, drawing, and readymade objects.
One standout piece in the biennial is Deanna Templeton’s What She Said (2000–ongoing) portrait series. Templeton pairs diary entries from her own teenage years in the 1980s with contemporary portraits of teenage girls from various subcultures around the world. The juxtaposition of the girls’ countercultural style with Templeton’s diary entries creates a universal experience of teenage girlhood.
Heesoo Kwon’s photographic installations also captivate viewers by enhancing childhood photographs with matriarchal aliens and AI-generated edits. Kwon’s creations blur the line between memory and reality, questioning the authenticity of the images and inviting viewers to consider the inventive nature of memory.
While these artists bring a fresh perspective to the theme of adolescence, other pieces in the biennial rely heavily on archival materials from the artists’ teenage years. Laura Owens, Joey Terrell, and the members of Emily’s Sassy Lime use their childhood relics to recreate bookshelves from their teenage bedrooms, evoking nostalgia but failing to connect with today’s teenagers.
The Orange County Young Curators program presents a more conceptual take on authenticity in the digital age with their mini exhibition, Piece of Me. Through works like Abetz & Drescher’s “Long Before Rock ‘n’ Roll” (2006) and Ed Templeton’s Teenage Smokers (1999), the young curators explore the performative nature of teenage identity and the inner turmoil of adolescence.
Overall, the California Biennial, Desperate, Scared, But Social offers a diverse range of perspectives on adolescence, from the personal to the conceptual. While some pieces may feel disconnected from today’s teenagers, others provide a thought-provoking exploration of youth culture. The exhibition runs at the Orange County Museum of Art until January 4, 2026, offering visitors a chance to reflect on the complexities of teenage identity.
