Palm Springs Fine Art Fair 2014 Photos: Setting Up and Reception

This past weekend was the 2014 Palm Springs Fine Art Fair and below are images of some of the fun as it unfolded.

Wednesday's hustle and bustle below, as artwork is arriving and finding it's place along the walls. This view is looking across the aisle at Gerald Peters Gallery (Santa Fe). Some pieces are already up, the Cynthia Corbett Gallery (London) next door unpacking, the Chopper in the center still wrapped and veiled.

The helpful art fair staff coming with a ladder for some last minute lighting adjustments.

Our booth - Izen Miller Gallery, Palm Desert - with the artwork installed. I felt very pleased and honored to be showing with such high caliber artists as Susie McKay Krieser, Harry James Moody, and works by Sam Francis, Andy Warhol, Jean Tinguely, and Carlos Almaraz.

I had to laugh when I saw the Marc Sijan sculpture below - akin to the one last year that I said good morning to each day. This one too is impervious to pleasantries; nevertheless he provided a sense of "security."

As the reception is just beginning, an obligatory before the artwork pose. Glad we remembered to shoot one this year. 

The opening reception in full swing. This photo is borrowed from the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair Facebook page. I added a red arrow pointing to our booth.

More images and moments from the 2014 Palm Springs Fine Art Fair to follow soon.

Chasing Clouds

Cloud Chasing ©2014 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 30 x 40 inches

 "Your hopes, dreams and aspirations are legitimate. They are trying to take you airborne, above the clouds, above the storms, if you only let them." -William James

This is one more of the selection of paintings going to Palm Springs this week for the 3rd annual Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, taking place this coming Presidents' Day weekend. There is still time to email me for a free pass, if you act today.

Fog Lifting

Fog Lifting ©2014 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 30 x 40 inches

“Under the thinning fog the surf curled and creamed, almost without sound, like a thought trying to form itself on the edge of consciousness.” ― Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep

Here's another of the paintings going to Palm Springs next week for the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair. Come see the work in person if you'd like. The 3rd annual Palm Springs Fine Art Fair is this Presidents' Day weekend. For a free pass. email me, or sign up for my newsletter.

Billowing Clouds Go By and By

Billowing Clouds Go By and By ©2014 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 16 x 20 inches

"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky." Rabindranath Tagore

This is one of the paintings that I'm planing to take to the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair in February. If you're in the area and you'd like to come to the Fair and see it in person let me know. Email me, or sign up for my newsletter..

Palm Springs Fine Art Fair 2014

I'm pleased to once again be participating in the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, which takes place President's Day weekend at the convention center in Palm Springs, CA. Full details below. I can send a limited number of complimentary passes to newsletter subscribers. Please sign up here.

IZEN MILLER GALLERY

Booth 210

PALM SPRINGS FINE ART FAIR

Palm Springs Convention Center, 277 N Avenida Caballeros, Palm Springs, CA 92262

V.I.P. Opening Preview Party

Thursday, Feb 13, 7 - 9:30 PM

(Requires pass)    

             

Friday, February 14, 11 AM - 8 PM  

 Saturday, February 15, 11 AM - 8 PM 

 Sunday, Feb 16, 11 AM - 6 PM

www.palmspringsfineartfair.com

Standing in the Sky

Scotland Sketch 3 2014 Katherine Kean
graphite on paper

"Look at your feet. You are standing in the sky. When we think of the sky, we tend to look up, but the sky actually begins at the earth." - Diane Ackerman

I drew this from a photograph taken in Scotland on a day when the clouds rushed in fast and dark and rained on us a little bit and then almost as quickly were gone. I'm glad I took a picture. This sky lasted only moments. but took my breath away while it lasted.

Can Artwork Keep You Awake at Night?

When I first heard the quote by Donald Hess, "I only buy paintings that keep me awake at night." I wondered, what does he mean by that? My inner class clown quipped, (inwardly) "Does he own a collection of James Turrell or Dan Flavin light paintings?" While it is true that there are many Turrell's in the Hess Collection, the paintings that Hess is referring to are the ones he has seen and then after seeing them is woken up in the middle of the night able to "clearly see the piece of art in front of my eyes" To me this suggests a strong sense of connection.

What in a painting would wake you up in the middle of the night?

Robert Motherwell Elegy to the Spanish Republic

Diane Marsh Rage, Rage Against the Dying of the Light

Would it be bold shapes, contrast or color, a composition loaded with internal tension? A compelling or inspiring message?

Or maybe, a painting that needs solving? As an artist these do keep me awake at night, but that's a different subject. In this case I'm thinking of paintings that seem to contain riddles or point to something...other, beyond language, and that perhaps the clues are contained in the artwork if only one could decode them.

Anselm Kiefer Am Anfang, 2002

The other kind of painting that I imagine keeps one awake is one that is very beautiful. Those that make me want to get up and turn on the light and see it again. To sit before it, maybe with a glass of something, while I stay awake and look.

What about you? Has an artwork ever kept you awake at night?