Spring Arts Preview 2025: The 10 art exhibits and events we can’t wait to see this season

New visual art exhibitions will be blooming this spring at galleries and museums across the county. From global textiles, to contemporary and comics art installations, to works by artists with autism and a fundraiser for L.A. artists whose work was lost in the recent wildfires. Here are some of the exhibitions and events we’re eager to see in the coming months.
MCASD: ‘An Artful Life: A Tribute to Matthew C. Strauss’
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego pays tribute to its longtime patron and former board president Matthew C. Strauss, who passed away last year. Strauss was a passionate art advocate and philanthropist and, with his wife Iris, built a world-class collection of contemporary art over 35 years. Today the Strauss Family Collection consists of more than 300 original artworks by internationally recognized artists. For this memorial exhibition, 22 important paintings from the Strauss collection, showcasing the developments in paintings from the 1970s to this decade, will be displayed. Artists include Jennifer Bartlett, Cecily Brown, Damien Hirst, Alex Katz, Beatriz Milhazes, Takashi Murakami, Robert Rauschenberg, Julian Schnabel, and Mickalene Thomas. Runs Thursday through Aug. 3. MCASD, 700 Prospect St., La Jolla. Free to $25. 858-453-3541,
SDMA: ‘Dutch Painting: Special Loans from the MFA Boston’
On Saturday, San Diego Museum of Art will open this two-year installation of 17th-century Dutch paintings on loan from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, alongside similar works from the SDMA collection. The paintings will offer visitors a glimpse into the society and artistic traditions of the time including scenes of everyday life, landscapes and portraits, reflecting the values and prosperity of the Dutch Republic during a flourishing period of economic expansion and global trade. Runs Saturday through March 21, 2027. San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. Free-$20. 619-232-7931,
Union Hall Gallery: Fire Relief Sale
The Farkash family will open their 2,555-square-foot Union Hall Gallery to host a fine art and craft sale that will benefit Grief and Hope: LA Art World Fire Relief Fund. The fund was set up to provide funds to artists and art workers impacted by the disastrous Palisades and Eaton wildfires on Jan. 7 in the Los Angeles area. The exhibit and sale, organized by Pacific Palisades native Heidi Farkash, will feature more than 250 artworks donated by San Diego County artists and art collectors, including works by James Hubbell, Italo Scanga, Larry Groff, James Aitchison, Joe Garcia and more. Runs 2-6 p.m. April 4 and 11; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 5-6, 12-13. 2323 Broadway, San Diego. 619-202-0711,
Oceanside Museum of Art: ‘ Art of Autism: A Different Lens
In a special collaboration with The Art of Autism nonprofit in San Diego, the exhibition will showcases works by more than a dozen regional neurodivergent artists. By sharing the art of people with autism, Art of Autism aims to broaden the public’s understanding of their differences and unique perspectives, demonstrating how the arts can physically, mentally, socially and emotionally bridge communities. April 5 through July 27, with an exhibition reception from 5-7 p.m. May 3. Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way, Oceanside. Free-$10. Reception is $15. 760-435-3720,
Mingei International Museum: ‘Fashioning an Icon’
This collection of more than 70 textile works honors the Virgin of Guadalupe and her endurance as an iconic cultural symbol fashioned through creative expression. The exhibit includes hand-wove and embroidered textiles, apparel, blankets and adornments. Featured local artists include photographer Arianna Ytselle, Sew Loka’s Claudia Rodríguez-Biezunski and binational artist Diana Benavídez. Runs April 5 through Aug. 17. 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego. Free to $15. 619-239-0003, /visit
SDMA: Art Alive 2025
San Diego Museum of Art’s annual Art Alive exhibition returns next month, where guest floral designers create more than 100 botanical displays inspired by the art in the Balboa Park museum’s collection. This year, for the first time in 44 years, the designers will also be creating botanical art inspired by architecture. The central creation will be a large-scale floral design created in the museum’s rotunda by husband and wife artists Natasha Lisitsa and Daniel Schultz. Art Alive draws about 13,000 visitors each year, so visiting slots book up fast. Noon to 4 p.m. April 25; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 26 and 27. 1649 El Prado, Balboa Park, $5-$40. /events/category/art-alive
Ilan-Lael Foundation Spring Tours
The Ilan-Lael Foundation will open the doors of its mountaintop campus in Santa Ysabel in May for spring tour season. The 10-acre property was hand-built by the visionary artist and sculptor James Hubbell, who passed away last year. All money raised through the tours goes into preserving the otherworldly buildings and onsite artisan studios, residencies and events. The 90-minute, docent-led tours will be offered at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, May 2 through June 14. 930 Orchard Lane, Santa Ysabel. $65-$90. 760-765-3427, /visit/open-house-tours/
Madison Gallery: ‘Lino Lago — Multipolar’
Spanish artist Lino Lago will present his third solo exhibition at Madison Gallery this spring. “Multipolar” will introduce Lago’s idea of confrontation between different worlds and cultures. His work is known for combining contrasting styles, artistic eras and media in a single painting. In “Multipolar,” he will allow viewers to view snippets of a portrait through squiggles across monochrome canvases. Runs May 10 through June 20. 320 S. Cedros Ave., Suite 200, Solana Beach. Free admission. 858-523-9155,
La Jolla Historical Society: ‘Kumeyaay Visual Storytelling Project’
The Kumeyaay Visual Storytelling Project, a community-based project created by members of the Kumeyaay Nation, is an immersive exhibition that tells the stories of local history from their own perspective. The two-part comic books, “Our Past, Present, and Future” and “Beyond Gaming,” were written by Kumeyaay tribal historians Ethan Banegas, Michael Connolly Miskwish, Lorraine Orosco and Stanley Rodriguez, with illustrations by John Swogger. Each of these comics tells the same story, but in slightly different ways, as a way of teaching readers to learn about something that’s complicated. Runs June 13 through August 31. 780 Prospect St., La Jolla. Free. 858-459-5335,
ICA San Diego: ‘Las Hermanas Iglesias’
Since 2005, sisters Lisa and Janelle Iglesias have collaborated creatively from different coasts as the art duo Las Hermanas Iglesias. Raised in Queens, N.Y., by Dominican and Norwegian immigrant parents, the sisters both work as art professors and solo artists in addition to collaborating on joint exhibitions. Janelle teaches at UC San Diego and Lisa at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. Their joint spring exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art San Diego will be inspired by their own journeys through fertility, pregnancy, loss and birth during the COVID-19 pandemic. The exhibit will be presented at ICA’s north campus, where their works will be installed throughout the indoor/outdoor campus. Runs Aug. 16 through Dec. 27. 1550 S. El Camino Real, Encinitas. $10 suggestion donation. 760-436-6611,