Art Palm Springs (art-palmsprings.com) returns to the Palm Springs Convention Center February 16-19, 2017 for a sixth year with an expanded program of panels, artist receptions, book signings, and VIP access events.

The weekend kicks off with the Opening Night Reception and awards presentation. 2017 honorees include Art Patron of the Year to Donna MacMillan and Artist of the Year to Lita Albuquerque. Each year this reception draws a capacity crowd of collectors, curators, artists and tastemakers as they celebrate the curated collection of works presented by the exhibiting galleries from around the globe. 2017 will have a record number of galleries representing over 300 artists from galleries traveling from Europe, Asia, South America and the United States. 

Honorees and Panelists (Left to Right) Lita Albuquerque APS Artist of the Year Award Recipient; Donna MacMillan APS Art Patron of the Year Award Recipient; Katherine Hough, Chief Curator Palm Springs Art Museum; Xiliary Twil-Accredited Appraiser; Danny Heller ArtistA number of VIP events are available throughout the weekend including a Modernism Home Tour, Desert X preview, guided tours of Art Palm Springs, tours of private home collections and a party at the O’Donnell House. Each VIP event requires pre-registration and has limited capacity.

A sample of scheduled events for the weekend by day include:
The State of Your Art: Valuation, Insurance, Conservation, and Management
Owning art is a responsibility that doesn’t stop at purchase. Xiliary Twil, Accredited Senior Appraiser with the American Society of Appraisers, along with Sam Pugatch, Director - Art and Valuable Collections at Momentous Insurance and Sabrina Carli of Carli Fine Art Conservation.

Time to Look at Women Artists
Curators at Palm Springs Art Museum present three exhibitions in 2017 that take a close look at the work of women artists and their contributions to their respective movements. Katherine Hough, Chief Curator, will discuss the artists of the groundbreaking exhibition Women of Abstract Expressionism; Brooke Hodge, Director of Architecture and Design, will present On the Grid, a fascinating look at homesteading in the high desert, featuring a major installation by artist Andrea Zittel; and Mara Gladstone, Associate Curator, will introduce the meticulous work of Pat Lasch through the exhibition Journeys of the Heart. Presented by Palm Springs Art Museum.

Rosenberg: A Modern Approach to Reverse Painting
The tradition of reverse painting on glass goes back to the Middle Ages and the Byzantine Empire. Over the last decade, some contemporary artists have begun experimenting with this process, substituting clear acrylic panels for glass to allow for larger-scale works. Using these updated materials, the artist Rosenberg brings his own unique style to this old tradition, layering gradating colors upon colors while creating non-objective work that arises from an intuitive approach. He will discuss his process and the ways in which finished compositions often surprise him. Presented by Tom Ross Gallery, Palm Springs, CA. 

Trevor Allen Huber: Synapse Memories
As inspiration for his most recent body of work, artist Trevor Allen Huber has called on the infinite differences within the minds of human beings. Delve into the concepts and experimental nature of Huber’s glass art during this conversational artist talk.
Presented by Cassera Arts Premiers, Camano Island, WA. 

Raymond Jonson: Absolute Art with Matthew Rowe Gallerist Matthew Rowe will give an overview of the life of Raymond Jonson, including significant events and the ways in which they altered his painting style. Rowe will describe important art terms that Johnson used to define his work and explore what makes each period of his work unique. This will include a discussion of his later period works that have been generally disregarded and overlooked by historians and collectors. Presented by Addison Rowe Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM.

Mike Nesbit and Kristin Bauer: Abstract Technical
Artists Mike Nesbit and Kristin Bauer will discuss the rise of architectural influences and techniques in their respective bodies of work and the ways in which fabrication of the artist's output is cleverly manipulated and utilized in contemporary art. Presented by Jai & Jai Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.

Desert X Preview
From February 25 to April 30, 2017, the Coachella Valley will become a canvas for established and emerging artists whose site-specific works will articulate a range of issues and uncharted territories of the California desert. Desert X artistic director Neville Wakefield and executive director Elizabeta Betinski will be joined by participating artists to discuss the cultural and philosophical issues that make the desert vibrant and exciting. Presented by Desert X. 

Sharing Chektov
Renowned Russian art scholar and gallerist Kenneth Pushkin will share the story of his friendship with the important Russian Modernist Boris Chektov, who inherited and reinvented the traditions of Russian art, resulting in compellingly beautiful and fascinating works. Presented by the Pushkin Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.Binh Pho: The Nature of Collaboration
Artist Binh Pho will discuss his use of concept, narrative, and the language of symbolism, abstraction and figurative imagery. He will share his personal vision as well as how it is expanded through collaboration with an international array of artists working in diverse media. Presented by Sensate Gallery, Ojai, CA.

Danny Heller: Limited Edition Print Signing
Artist Danny Heller will release a special limited edition print for the Art Palm Springs and participate in an in-person signing event. Heller is a painter from Southern California who focuses on mid-century architectural realism. Presented by the George Billis Gallery, New York, NY. 

The Desert as Mirror: Reflections on the Void
A conversation with Lita Albuquerque. Since the early 1970s, Lita Albuquerque has created an expansive body of work, ranging from sculpture, poetry, painting and multi-media performance to ambitious site-specific ephemeral projects in remote locations around the globe. Often associated with the Light and Space and Land Art movements, Albuquerque has developed a unique visual and conceptual vocabulary using the earth, color, the body, motion and time to illuminate identity as part of the universal. Her presentation at Art Palm Springs will focus on the concept for her Desert X installation as well as other past and future projects. Presented by Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA.

Clinton Hill
Marilyn Pearl, Executive Director of the Clinton Hill Foundation, will discuss the life and work of Clinton Hill, an abstract artist who lived and worked in New York. Pearl will discuss Hill’s glorious paintings and works on paper, as well as life as a gay man, successful artist, and pioneer of SOHO. She will also explain the creation of the Foundation, its mission, and the grants to museums that it has awarded.

Andy Burgess: Modernism Revisited / Artist in Residency at Tandem Press
Far from restricting his practice to one medium, London-born, U.S-based artist Andy Burgess has been working across architecture, painting and collage for over 30 years. Expanding his repertoire even further, Burgess is currently undertaking an artist’s residency at Tandem Press, a prestigious Wisconsin-based printmaking studio that has housed the likes of Jim Dine and David Lynch. Tandem Press champions analytical research and exploratory methods and Burgess has found this to be a valuable catalyst for his experimentation with lithography. Burgess’s recent prints represent a pivotal landmark in the artist’s sustained meditation on Mid-Century Modern architecture. Presented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London, UK. 

Greg Gorman: Private Works Book Signing

Iconic Los Angeles-based photographer Greg Gorman who will sign copies of his latest book “Private Works”. Gorman was one of the first openly gay photographers of his generation and the book allows a peak behind closed doors. “Private Works” represents his first foray into male portraiture and the nude in more than 15 years, as well as a departure in both style and content from his earlier works. Presented by HOHMANN, Palm Desert, CA. Bernie Taupin: The Evolution of an Artist
Many artists are gifted in multiple mediums of communication. In addition to the visual arts, some are writers, poets, and performance artists. Does being multi-disciplined interfere with the artist’s creativity across their chosen media? Are such artists recognized for their additional talents, or is their work less credible if they do not focus on one particular area of creativity? Artist Bernie Taupin will address these questions and present an overview of his own artistic journey.
 
Taupin has been a lifelong visual artist. At the age of 17, he began creative endeavors as a writer and by the age of 20, many of his writings had been turned into songs adapted by Reggie Dwight. In 1970 “Your Song” arrived, Reggie became Elton John, and the rest is history.
 
His legacy could have been cemented by his achievements solely as a songwriter, but in the 1990’s Taupin returned to his visual arts roots, painting in the Abstract Expressionism manner inspired by Anselm Kiefer and Hans Hoffman. After 20 years of ‘pushing paint,’ Bernie has found his unique voice in the visual language of reduction/construction and assemblage.
 
The presentation will close with Taupin’s review of the evolution of styles from Abstract Expressionism through Pop to reduction/reconstruction and a brief Q&A specific to Taupin’s visual art career. Following the lecture, attendees are invited to a walk-through of the artist’s work on display at the fair. Presented by Dana Yarger Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA.

The Exploding Kiln: The New Ceramics Revolution
Garth Clark, Editor in Chief of CFile Foundation, and Mark Del Vecchio, Curator and Director of Ceramics and Design, Peters Projects, are leading long-term voices in the new ceramic age. As authors, speakers, curators and collectors, they have played key roles in the medium's evolution in the fine arts. Presented by Peters Projects, Santa Fe, NM.
 
The full daily schedule of hosted events, times, and locations will be available on Art-PalmSprings.com. Art Palm Springs takes place February 16-19, 2017 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. 

Art Palm Springs is owned by Atlanta-based Urban Expositions, which produces Art Aspen, Art Hamptons, Houston Art Fair, Art Palm Springs, and the Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design (SOFA) Fair in Chicago. All art fairs are presented by galleries from around the world exhibiting modern and contemporary art in a variety of media including painting, photography, sculpture, and mixed-media. 
For more information about Urban Expositions’ art and design fairs, visit the following websites:
Art Hamptons | www.arthamptons.com
Art Aspen | www.art-aspen.com
Houston Art Fair | www.houstonartfair.com
SOFA CHICAGO | www.sofaexpo.com
Art Palm Springs | www.art-palmsprings.com
 
About Urban Expositions
Based in Kennesaw, GA, and founded in 1995, Urban Expositions produces and manages a portfolio of 40 events. Urban serves seven industry sectors including Gift, Souvenir, Art, Aviation, Foodservice, Pet and Gaming. Urban has offices in Shelton, CT and Boca Raton, FL, and is represented by employees in California, Colorado and Illinois. www.urban-expo.com
 
About Clarion Events Clarion Events can trace its roots back to 1947 and takes great pride in being one of the oldest independent event organizers in the UK. The teams at Clarion create uniquely effective and stimulating environments that can serve as a platform to build businesses, enhance customer relationships and accelerate product awareness. More recently the firm has developed an international portfolio of brands and now delivers more than 200 events in over 20 countries.  www.clarionevents.com and www.olympia-art-antiques.com