Contemporary Art

The galleries denoted with a ( ) participate in the First Thursday Artwalk from 6 to 9 p.m., Jan. 2. NORTH COAST HIGHWAY GALLERIES Gallery McCollum (949) 497-4027 206 N. Coast Highway Specializing in local landscapes, seascapes and tropicals. The gallery is featuring Caroline Zimmermann and her collection of recent painting from Tuscany and California, titled "Terra Bella." Laguna Art Museum (949) 376-8971 307 Cliff Drive Currently featuring an exhibit of 25 new works by painter Hung Liu. The exhibit, co-curated and co-organized by the Boise Art Museum and Heather Lineberry, will run through Feb. 23 before it travels nationally.

Laguna Art Museum 307 Cliff Drive (949) 494-8971 http://www.lagunaartmuseum.org Open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays and Fridays through Sundays; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays; and closed Wednesdays. Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for seniors, students and active military. Children younger than 12 are admitted for free. The museum is closed on the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's days. Through April 28: Three exhibitions open, "Ex•pose: Allison Schulnik," "George Hurrell: Laguna to Hollywood," and "John Mason: Blue Wall.

From kitschy, pop-culture takes on Bob's Big Boy to arresting mannerist portraits, there's something for everybody at Laguna Art Museum's "OsCene II: Contemporary Art and Culture in O.C." Featuring the talents of a first-time curator, the show opens on Saturday, Oct. 29, and runs through Jan. 21, 2007. An opening reception will be held Saturday night, and panel discussions and other events will be held periodically throughout the run of the exhibition. "I'm very proud of this show," said Jacqueline Bunge, guest curator.

Send DATEBOOK items to the Laguna Beach Coastline-Pilot, 384 Forest Ave., No. 22, Laguna Beach, CA 92652; fax to 494-8979; call 494-4321 or e-mail coastlinepilot@ latimes.com. Submissions must be received two weeks before publication. A complete listing may be found at www.latimes.com/tcn/ coastline. TODAY JUMPING FOR JOY The Laguna Playhouse will continue to show "Jumping for Joy," a new play by Jon Marans, author of "Old Wicked Songs," which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1996.

ART WALK Join more than 40 galleries throughout Laguna Beach on the first Thursday of every month for a festive cultural evening from 6 to 9 p.m. Free shuttle service commences from the Laguna Art Museum 6:15 and runs until 9 p.m. Information: http://www.firstthursdays artwalk.com or (949) 683-6871. The next First Thursday Art Walk will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. on May 6. Notes galleries who participate in the First Thursday Art Walk. NORTH COAST HIGHWAY GALLERIES California Art Gallery (949)

New exhibits at Laguna Art Museum Laguna Art Museum opened two new exhibits on Sunday and include "Deborah Aschheim: Neural Architecture (a smart building is a nervous building)," which will run through July 5, and "Joseph Raphael: American Expatriate -- Impressionist Paintings from the Collection of Oscar and Trudy Lemer," which will run through July 11. Other exhibits on display include: "Funny Business: Humor in Art from the Permanent Collection" and "Greetings from Laguna Beach."

Sawdust Art Festival auctions slated The Sawdust Art Festival will hold two art auctions on Sunday, Aug. 6. Both will benefit local causes while allowing the public to purchase original art. The 14th annual Artists Benevolence Fund Auction will begin at 2 p.m., and will be followed by the Project Skimboard 2 auction at 5 p.m. The Artists Benevolence Fund was established in 1993 as a non-profit entity to provide assistance to artists...

Suzie Harrison The canvases show life drawn from experience, perception and individual interpretation. They are placed side by side underscoring the individual thought and emotion behind the art. The show is called "Menage a trois," and features three artists -- Paula Schoen, Georges Monfils and Christian Lopez. The trio interpreted chosen topics for the show exclusively at Marion Meyer Contemporary Art. From creating and designing guitars, to a 6-foot tall milk carton, looking at intangibles such as time and memory -- each artist conceptualized these topics into art. "We came up with this idea earlier this year over shots of tequila," Monfils said.