SAN CLEMENTE, CA .- Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, the premier museum destination for arts and culture in Southern California, is opening its 2026 season with two striking new exhibitions that invite visitors to reflect on the world around them: how we inhabit it, move through it, and respond to its beauty and fragility. On view January 15 and through March 8, the exhibitions feature Vietnamese-American artist Ann Phong in the Art Gallery and acclaimed plein-air painter John Cosby as Artist-in-Residence in The Studio, together setting a thoughtful and visually compelling tone for the year ahead.

“These exhibitions reflect what Casa Romantica strives to offer: art that is both beautiful and meaningful. Ann Phong and John Cosby approach their work from very different places, yet both create art that encourages deeper awareness of our environment, our surroundings, and ourselves,” said Kylie Travis, Executive Director of Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens. “We selected these artists because their work sparks conversation, invites reflection, and aligns with Casa Romantica’s mission to connect people through art, culture, and place.”

In Making Peace with the Earth, Ann Phong presents a deeply personal and environmentally driven body of work shaped by a life lived across continents. Her paintings are built through dense, tactile layers of color, texture, and found materials, juxtaposing moments of vibrancy with passages of quiet unease. Drawing attention to the contrast between art and waste, permanence and disposability, Phong challenges viewers to pause, first to admire the surface beauty of her work, then to confront the environmental questions embedded beneath it. The result is art that feels urgent yet poetic, asking not only what the planet is enduring, but how individuals might respond.

A nationally and internationally exhibited artist, Phong has shown her work in more than 200 solo and group exhibitions worldwide and has been widely recognized for her ability to blend lyrical abstraction with critical narrative. Her paintings do not prescribe solutions; instead, they create space for reflection, empathy, and accountability reminding viewers that living peacefully begins with making peace with the Earth itself.

In The Studio, John Cosby brings a dynamic counterpoint through the act of creation itself. Known for his bold color, energetic brushwork, and emotionally charged landscapes, Cosby paints on location, capturing not just what a place looks like, but what it feels like. Visitors are invited into his process during his on-site residency, offering a rare, intimate look at an artist whose work has earned international recognition and resides in private and public collections around the world. Rooted in travel, observation, and a lifelong engagement with art, Cosby’s paintings radiate movement, light, and authenticity.

Both exhibitions open with a public reception on Thursday, January 15, from 6 to 8 p.m.. For more information on both exhibitions, as well as a complete list of events and other happenings at Casa Romantica, visit CasaRomantica.org and follow @CasaRomanticaSC on social media.