90 artworks on display for ACE Exhibition at Artists Center at the Galen

Local artist Julie Lipa's piece, "Know Your Place," was hard to miss during the 2022 Artists Council Exhibition and Sale at the Artists Center at the Galen in Palm Desert on Friday night.

Big gold letters spelled out "Know Your Place" above a vintage woman modeling with an old television set. It featured a screen of a woman wearing a smock with a smile on it looking at a mirror with a collage of old articles such as Good Housekeeping's "The Good Wife Guide."

Lipa said her artwork was inspired by a 1932 story about the Bucharest Smile Academy, a rehab center for women suffering from depression.

"I just started thinking about all the different ways during the '50s how advertising was directing women to be a certain way," Lipa said. "She's looking at a mirror, but I also think that's a subliminal message thinking about what social media has done for young people in general and everyone's sense of well-being."

The exhibition and sale features artworks from 90 Artists Council members and runs from Feb. 12 to March 27.

Artists Council Director of Events and Facilities Carole Hatcher said her work on display, "Chrysanthemum Temple Prayers," was inspired by a visit to a Chinese temple in Los Angeles during the end of the Chinese New Year in 2020 — right before the COVID-19 pandemic. She was inspired by the families honoring their departed loved ones with Chrysanthemums.

"I was moved by the honor in the temple and the day," Hatcher said. "Then the next day, I had two years to make (the piece) because the world shut down."

"Good Friday-Holy Saturday-Easter Triptych" by the Rev. Canon Eric H.F. Law, an Episcopal priest and assisting clergy member of Church of St Paul In the Desert in Palm Springs, was inspired by the controversial "Shroud of Turin" some believe is the burial cloth that Jesus of Nazareth was wrapped in following his crucifixion. There's three panels in the piece with a ghostly image appearing in two of them.

"The inspiration is to expose what it is hidden," Law said. "There's a real person behind that shroud who died 2,000 years ago. Whether it's Jesus or not, they're still debating that, but the face in the shroud is really interesting because it's almost a negative of a photograph image."

Later in the evening, KESQ meteorologist Patrick Evans acted as master of ceremonies for an awards ceremony where jurors Daniel Foster and Melissa Russo presented six awards to artists Andree Carter ("Remnants 1"), Martha Cowan ("Restricted"), Christine Cozen ("Fantastical Floral #1"), Marcia Geiger ("Hamburguesas, San Miguel de Allende") and Tony Radcliffe ("The Legacy of Literature").

Local artists Karen and Tony Barone presented an award for sculpture to Candace Kahn for her piece "Enter the Green Room."

What 2022 will bring for the council

The Artists Council, a Palm Desert arts nonprofit, moved into The Galen last year after signing a three-year lease with the City of Palm Desert. The gallery opened in October with the exhibition "Nexus," featuring more than 100 member artworks.

Chairman David Hatcher said he hopes to expand the center in the future and plans to do more community outreach, which includes the Young Artists Exhibition planned for April 9 to May 15 and featuring students from 17 high schools. Another event on the calendar is Community Arts Days from April 25 to May 8.

"We're hoping that becomes something we do not just once a year, but multiple times," Hatcher said.

The Galen, located off Highway 111 near Westfield Palm Desert, has showcased contemporary art and some rotating special collections, as well as an outdoor sculpture garden, for nearly a decade. The Palm Springs Art Museum helmed programming and operations for years but cut ties in 2020 amid cost-saving measures.

The Faye Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden features significant works from the Palm Springs Art Museum’s permanent collection among native plants, winding walkways, and water features. Artworks on view include pieces by Fletcher Benton, Betty Gold, Donald Judd, Dan Namingha, and Jaume Plensa, among others.

The garden is under a 20-year lease, with options to renew every five years with the city, museum spokesperson Scott Slaven told The Desert Sun last year.

Upcoming workshops include painting with oil and acrylic and watercolors, and the gallery will host a March 4 concert by Desert Baroque. A calendar of events is available at artistscouncil.com

If you go

What: The 2022 annual Juried ACE Exhibition and Sale

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Feb. 12 to March 27

Where: Artists Council Artist Center at the Galen, 72-567 Highway 111, Palm Desert

More info: artistscouncil.com

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: 90 artworks on display for ACE Exhibition at Artists Center at the Galen