The 2025 iteration of the California Biennial focuses on the richness of late adolescence, a stage of life full of hope and potential yet fraught with awkwardness, anxiety, and myriad pressures. Titled after the first album by Emily’s Sassy Lime, a band founded in 1993 by three Orange County teens, the Biennial takes a range of approaches toward young adulthood, featuring early work by established California artists and others who revisit their own youth as material, artists who collaborate with their own children, and work by present-day teenagers and those of the past who have unabashedly shaped the culture of their moment. By bringing these works together, the Biennial emphasizes the important dialogue between artists in different places and of different generations who strive to build creative communities.

In addition to the 12 featured artists, Desperate, Scared, But Social includes two exhibitions within the Biennial. One is a presentation of paintings drawn from the Gardena High School Art Collection—a pioneering collection of California Impressionism that began in 1919 and was assembled by the student body. The second is organized by OCMA’s inaugural Orange County Young Curators—a select group of teen curators who have been invited to participate in a yearlong exhibition-making program at OCMA that culminates in a show drawn from the museum’s collection. At a time when the future may seem bleak, the 2025 California Biennial shines a light on the fearless youth of the recent past and offers a platform to the young people who will shape the world to come.

Desperate, Scared, But Social is organized by OCMA Chief Curator & Director of Programs, Courtenay Finn and founder of C/O: Curatorial Office, Christopher Y. Lew, with Associate Curator Lauren Leving.