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By Steven Biller
 Courtesy Melissa Morgan Gallery. Dennis Oppenheim Electric Kiss (2008) Proposed for the desert near Palm Springs, Calif. Scale model (1 inch equals 1 foot), steel and acrylic, 24 inches high. |
Much of the construction on El Paseo in Palm Desert this summer unmasks in September and October, as not only prestigious new retailers such as Gucci have opened, but also art galleries have expanded, or even relocated, their spaces. Here’s look at what you can see this season at Palm Desert’s art gallery-laden shopping and entertainment destination: • MELISSA MORGAN FINE ART took over (and gutted) the former Paseo Palms Bar & Grill, doubling the exhibition space of its former location. Likewise, Morgan and gallery director Alec Longmuir have expanded its program into cutting-edge Latin American art in all media, as well as contemporary paintings from San Francisco and Los Angeles, sculpture, photography, video, and installation art. Look for Dennis Oppenheim, Foon Sham, Bill Barrett, and Carlos Betancourt among the artists new to the gallery. • HEATHER JAMES FINE ART, located off El Paseo at the corner of Highway 111 and Portola Avenue in the former Buschlen Mowatt Galleries building, is the talk of the town. Teasing collectors last season in its original space with exhibitions of works by Andy Warhol and Jianyon Zeng, Heather James’ new location opens with works by Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Later in the season, the gallery will show works by Impressionist and Modern masters, as well as important contemporary Chinese art, including photography by Zhang Huan. The original Heather James Art & Antiquities space adjacent to Melissa Morgan Gallery will emphasize antiquities. • ADAGIO GALLERIES, a staple on Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs since 1980, has moved its program of Southwest and Latin American art to El Paseo. Artists including R.C. Gorman, Miguel Martinez, B.C. Nowlin, and John Nieto fill a niche on the street. • EDENHURST GALLERY, — which enjoys a national reputation for its early California and American Impressionism paintings — has reopened across the street in a larger space formerly occupied by Eleonore Austerer Gallery. Exhibiting a Who’s Who of early California artists — including Guy Rose, William Wendt, E. Charlton Fortune, Edgar Payne, William Ritschel, and Charles Rollo Peters — Edenhurst is a veritable museum. (Austerer has semi-retired, but maintains appointment-only hours and shows works on paper by Modern masters in a small space near Coda Gallery and The Hart Gallery.) |
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