Galleries

Terry Masters Reception February 11th

Terry Masters is the most respected name in desert art, but it’s not always easy to locate either the man or his work. While other artists rush to openings or mingle over martinis, he’s likely to be off alone painting a rocky crag in the moonlight. So don’t miss the chance to finally meet the elusive master and see his new show at Howard Schepp Fine Art on El Paseo in Palm Desert. The exhibit opens February 1st, with a reception for the artist on February 11th. Masters is the Coachella Valley painter most aligned with the spirit of the…

Richard Steinheimer’s Trains on Exhibit in NYC

By Ann Japenga

There is nothing like a train to accent the space and scale of the desert. The two go together just about as well as deserts and smoketrees. One man who knew this perhaps better than anyone was Richard Steinheimer, one of the world’s best railroad photographers. Now fans of trains, deserts and the towering (he was 6’6”), lovable “Stein” have a chance to see the photographer’s work at the Robert Mann Gallery in New York through January 21st, 2012. Steinheimer—known as “The Ansel Adams of Railroad Photography”–died in May of Alzheimer’s disease. His wife, Shirley Burman, says it was the…

Michael Gordon’s Portraits of Joshua Trees

By Ann Japenga

Long Beach photographer Michael E. Gordon is a champion of overlooked deserts, preferring the quiet corners of the Mojave to the more obvious drama of places like the Grand Canyon. Now he takes on a similarly ignored and yet most deserving desert resident–the Joshua tree–in an exhibit opening November 5, 2011, at the historic Kelso Depot in Mojave National Preserve. While spending time amongst the trees Gordon says he began to realize each was as “wholly distinct as humans. Each specimen seems infused with individual form, character and stories.” The tree was named by Mormon settlers who noted the prayerful…

Eric Merrell’s “Romance of the West” Opens in Pasadena

By Ann Japenga

Eric Merrell continues to be a primo ambassador for desert art with his new solo exhibition at American Legacy Fine Arts in Pasadena: Romance of the West—and the Western Spirit, July 16-August 13. The opening reception is Saturday, July 16, from 5 to 7 pm. As historian for the prestigious California Art Club, Merrell seems to have channeled the souls of the early desert painters such as Sam Hyde Harris and Jimmy Swinnerton. A young man with charisma, authority and talent, he’s sweeping other painters along in his fascination with the desert, as well as early California painting in general. Merrell…

Lin Moore’s “Lovely Rock” at Maturango Museum through May 4th

By Ann Japenga

Oregon photographer Lin Moore explores the properties of desert rock in an exhibit at Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest through May 4th: “This Goodly Frame: Reveries Among the Origins of Order.” Moore has written about the link between poetry and photography and is especially inspired by the poet Robinson Jeffers, who lived in a rock tower in Carmel and could not say enough about rock: Lovely rock Living rock Lonely rock Pure naked rock Starting with the basalt cliffs at Smith Rock near his central Oregon home, Moore graduated to the advanced academy of rock, the California desert. He had been…

April is Desertscapes Month

By Ann Japenga

For the second year in a row, the City of Palm Desert and organizations valley wide are hosting a monthlong tribute to early and contemporary desert artists. The event, known as Desertscapes, takes place in April at venues around the Coachella Valley. For schedules and updates, check back at the soon-to-be-launched website www.Desertscapes.net A new event this year is an appraisal day. The public is invited to bring in paintings and desert artifacts for an informal opinion from experts. This Desert Roadshow is a great opportunity to bring in those old artworks stashed under your bed. Watch the schedule for…

Indian Wells Destroys a Cherished Link to California Art

By Ann Japenga

November 21, 2010–Anyone driving down Highway 111 last week saw that the long-dreaded demolition of the Carl Bray Gallery has begun. A crew first tore off the roof that the artist had painstakingly reinforced with steel beams salvaged from the Indio railroad yards where he worked. By Friday, the 18-foot fireplace—made with stones from Berdoo canyon as well as favorites from the Bray kids’ rock collections–was exposed to view. The Indian Wells City Council voted to destroy the last trace of the town’s original village despite an outpouring of public dismay and the findings of an official environmental review saying…

Smoketree Painter Sally Ward Dies

By Ann Japenga

Sally Ward, an artist who lived for decades in Palm Springs, died in Tucson on November 16, 2010, at age 101. Fellow artists from Ward’s circle of friends who also passed away recently include Louise Tennyson and Edna Hollinger. All were part of a roving bunch of plein air painters from the Palm Springs Desert Art Center. They explored the canyons together and benefited from acquaintance with older, experienced landscape painters such as Wilton McCoy, Darwin Duncan and Karl Albert. Sally Ward was born in Montana and moved to Palm Springs in 1973. Like her friends, Sally was serious about…

Cheryl Jordan: Seeking the Heart of the 92256

By Ann Japenga

The heroes of early desert photography recognized that a time and place was passing long before anyone else came to the same conclusion. They had a way of seeing what would be missed. Mecca postmaster Susie Smith, for instance, documented the camps of workers building the Colorado River Aqueduct in the 1930s. Richard Steinheimer captured the now-extinct railroad shanties beside the Salton Sea. These photographers were “hyperlocal” before hyperlocal was a buzzword. Now, in the tradition of the early documentarians, photographer Cheryl Jordan explores the impermanence of Morongo Valley lifestyles in the “92256” exhibit at the Cactus Mart on Highway…

Michael Gordon’s Desert Photography on View in Long Beach

By Ann Japenga

The desert drew modernists like Cady Wells and Dorr Bothwell, but also inspires more formal, almost old-fashioned (in a good way) interpretations. For a chance to see the latter, stop by the Long Beach El Dorado Nature Center Art Gallery for a show of Michael E. Gordon’s black-and-white photographs of the California desert. Long Beach resident Gordon is a California native who has been obsessed with the state’s mountains and deserts his whole life. His deliberative photos—made with a 4”x5” view camera–range from Anza- Borrego to the Mojave, Death Valley and Joshua Tree. He’s spent time at the Salton Sea,…

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Galleries

Terry Masters Reception February 11th

Richard Steinheimer’s Trains on Exhibit in NYC

Michael Gordon’s Portraits of Joshua Trees

Eric Merrell’s “Romance of the West” Opens in Pasadena

Lin Moore’s “Lovely Rock” at Maturango Museum through May 4th

April is Desertscapes Month

Indian Wells Destroys a Cherished Link to California Art

Smoketree Painter Sally Ward Dies

Cheryl Jordan: Seeking the Heart of the 92256

Michael Gordon’s Desert Photography on View in Long Beach

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