La Quinta, CA Civic Center Park, March 7-10
This story was featured in the March/April 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art March/April 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
EVERY YEAR, just on the cusp of spring, the La Quinta Arts Foundation assembles a stunning outdoor gallery beneath the bright, azure skies of Southern California’s Coachella Valley. Frequently ranked the number-one fine-art festival in the country by Greg Lawler’s Art Fair SourceBook, the 37th annual La Quinta Arts Festival opens on Thursday, March 7, and continues daily through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Against the backdrop of the Santa Rosa Mountains, the event dazzles visitors with artworks in 11 juried categories, including painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, glass, and jewelry. Although single-day admission tickets are available, says events manager Kathleen Hughes, “you really can’t see this show in a day. There are too many nooks and crannies with art to explore.”
The festival rounds up 220 top-notch contemporary artists selected from 1,100 applicants. This year’s roster includes artists from across the United States and Canada, Italy, Argentina, and Nicaragua. Because the jurors follow a blind-review process when scoring entries, it’s remarkable that their selections consistently bring together not only a geographically diverse group, but also many new participants, notes Hughes. “I’m always thrilled that, when we tally up the top scores, as many as 30 percent of the artists are new to the event.”
Painting and sculpture are premier categories, comprising more than 90 artists who exhibit at individual booths situated across the sprawling, 17.5-acre La Quinta Civic Center Campus. Featured artists Barton DeGraff and Terrell Powell are joined by returning top sellers like Guilloume, Erin Hanson, and Jason Napier. Also among the group is award-winning plein-air artist Elaine Mathews, of Palm Springs, CA, whose landscape paintings capture the very same light that inspired famed California Impressionists like William Wendt so many decades ago. Her large-scale painting COACHELLA VALLEY SPRING graces the 2019 commemorative poster. “Typically, we don’t feature local artists, so it shows the amount of respect that Elaine’s work commands,” says Hughes. “Her skill level is the highest of that here in this valley of plein-air painters.”
On Saturday, visitors can try their own hands at painting in a 10-by-8-foot public-participation mural designed and administered by acclaimed muralist Peter Tigler. “We’re asking people to channel their inner Picasso,” says Hughes. Surrounded by a spectacular display of art in one of California’s most scenic settings, it’s an invitation that’s hard to pass up. —Kim Agricola
contact information760.564.1244www.lqaf.com
This story was featured in the March/April 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art March/April 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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