Classic to Cutting Edge
A slice of the cultural character of Palm Desert reveals itself on El Paseo, where more than 20 galleries exhibit paintings, sculptures, mixedmedia works, and even video and installation art. The styles range from turn-of-the-century Impressionism to midcentury modernism to contemporary realism and abstraction. On the first Thursday of each month from October through May, the galleries host receptions for their exhibitions — often with the artists in attendance — from 5 to 9 p.m. during Art Walk El Paseo.
Starting on the west end, Melissa Morgan Fine Art (73040 El Paseo) has a cutting-edge program that includes California standouts Deborah Oropallo, Andy Moses, Lita Albuquerque, and Nellie King Solomon. Don’t miss the mixed-media works by Ivan Toth DePeña. A couple of doors over, Heather James Art & Antiquities (73080 El Paseo) offers carefully selected African, Asian, and pre-Columbian antiquities.
The popular and expansive Coda Gallery (73151 El Paseo) this season will show contemporary works by Charley Snow, Ben Steele, Jamie Perry, Kent Wallis, Brett Lethbridge, Chris Young, Marlene Rose and Qi Qun Pan, David Dornan, and Sarena Rosenfeld.
Austere-Williams Fine Art (73160 El Paseo) specializes in graphic works by 20th century masters, including Chagall, de Kooning, Rouault, Leger, Miró, Braque, and Moore.
J. Willott Gallery (73190 El Paseo) features modernistinspired sculptor Julie Speidel and painters Theodore Waddell, known for his distinctive landscapes, and realist Dean Mitchell.
Desert-based artists rule at Ramey Fine Art (73400 El Paseo), which features Delos Van Earl, Michael Ross, and Eric Johnson, as well as regional artists such as sculptor Mark Yale Harris and Kevin Box.
Adagio Galleries (73300 El Paseo) features B.C. Nowlin, Rebecca Tobey, and R.C. Gorman, as well as Roger Hayden Johnson, Miguel Martinez, and John Farnsworth.
Studio (73413 Hwy. 111, off El Paseo) exhibits studio glass art by Dale Chihuly, William Morris, Mary Van Cline, Flo Perkins, Daniel Clayman, Clifford Rainey, and others.
Edenhurst Gallery (73660 El Paseo) specializes in early California artists, including Guy Rose, William Wendt, E. Charlton Fortune, Edgar Payne, William Ritschel, and Charles Rollo Peters.
Next door, Christian Hohmann Fine Art (73660 El Paseo) offers excellent works by Pop artist Heiner Meyer and Manzur Kargar, as well as figurative paintings by Neil Nagy and Eberhardt Hueckstadt.
Two Feathers Gallery (73560 El Paseo) has a nice selection of oils on canvas by Roberto Marquez, as well as works by Elias Rivera, Ron Kostoff, Philip Campbell Curtis, and Craig Dan Goseyun.
A Gallery Fine Art (73956 El Paseo) features blown and cast glass art by Barry Entner, landscapes by Brian Hibbard, abstract landscape paintings by Judy Whitwyre, and figurative paintings by Erica Hopper.
At Jones & Terwilliger Galleries (73375 El Paseo), landscapes by Brian Blood, Andre and Simon Balyon, and Mark Geller mix with salonstyle figurative paintings by Milt Kobayashi, Gabriel Picart, and Chengxiang Qi.
In The Gardens on El Paseo, visitors will find von Wening Art (73585 El Paseo), featuring oil paintings by Maximillian von Wening, and black-andwhite photographs of entertainment legends at Flashback (73585 El Paseo).
The eclectic, often daring eye of Denise Robergé (73995 El Paseo) results in shows reflecting the aesthetics and sensibilities of the gallery’s self-styled namesake.
