NEW ARTIST GROUP SHOW
Nov 2 - 21, 2018
Opening Reception, Friday, Nov 2, 5-8 pm
 

PALM DESERT, CA — In its first exhibition of the season, CODA highlights in a group show the work of artists that are new to the gallery. Running Nov. 2 - 21, the exhibition begins with an opening reception on Nov. 2 from 5 to 8 pm in conjunction with El Paseo Art Walk/Palm Desert First Weekend.

Among the artists in attendance will be Anthony Liggins, who uses chopsticks, yarns, and pressed dots in his abstract paintings. His works have been exhibited around the world and are in the collections of hotels, restaurants, and offices, including PricewaterhouseCoopers and Rubbermaid in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as Shanghai Symphony Hall in China.

Jay Johansen captures the personalities behind pop icons in his mixed media portraits. His commissions have included Dave Brubeck, Nelson Mandela, Colin Powell, and Jesse Jackson. CODA’s inventory of his work features Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Judy Garland, and John Lennon.

Matthew Carden takes a different spin on pop culture and iconography in whimsical photographs that play with scale, posing tiny toy figures on food-related backgrounds, such as farm families on a vegetable landscape, skiers on a terrain of confetti-covered icing, and Wild West gunfighters on spaghetti.

Mary Oros creates graceful concrete sculptures that seem to defy gravity. Oros feels she is choreographing her pieces as she designs them. Working in concrete, she refers to her labor-intensive process as "concrete couture."

Also featured in the season’s first exhibition are figurative paintings by two Russian artists. Considered a child prodigy, Svetlana Valueva began her formal education in art at the age of 6. After her first solo exhibition in Moscow in 1993, The Bolshoi Theatre commissioned her to create a collection of paintings for its lobby. Attracted to the style of Art Nouveau, she renders in oil romantic images of naked women with drapings of gauze. In a complementary yet distinct manner, Serge Marshennikov also focuses on realistic and contemplative portrayals of females. His oil paintings reflect an honest admiration for his subjects. His work is held in important private collections in Russia, England, Denmark, France, and Japan.

As it has throughout its history, CODA Gallery offers a variety of mediums and styles by emerging, midcareer, and established artists. The 9,000-square-foot venue is located at 73400 El Paseo in Palm Desert at the corner of El Paseo and Lupine Lane.

For more information, call 760-346-4661 and/or visit www.codagallery.com. For more information on Palm Desert First Weekend, visit www.pdfirstweekend.com.