FIGURATIVE ART GALLERY OPENING IN OLD TOWN LA QUINTA (PALM SPRINGS AREA)

The Figurative - Gallery of Contemporary Art will open a new art gallery at the Old Town La Quinta development in the heart of the La Quinta village in Southern California desert.

The Figurative - Gallery of Contemporary Art will open a new art gallery at the Old Town La Quinta development in the heart of the La Quinta village. The gallery, dedicated to figurative art, will feature sculpture, ceramics and paintings in a contemporary 1200 square foot environment. Representing more than 30 international artists that work in various forms of media that include: clay, fiber, paint, leather and metal. Gallery owner and director Michael Hinkle was born in Palm Springs and raised in Indio. Hinkle says, We wanted to create a space where people could come and experience something different. Many of our artists have never been seen outside of smaller markets in the art world. By producing exhibitions at galleries, museums and expositions, we were able to gauge public reaction to the art. We believe in our artists and their art, we love it, we collect it ourselves and now we want to share it with the valley."

The gallery will open with a group exhibition in October that will run through January 2004. Ceramicist Janis Mars Wunderlich will have a solo show of new work in February and an exhibition from Casey OConnor & M. Elisabeth Higgins
OConnor opens in March. A solo show for Akira & Larry Blount is being planned for Fall 2004.

Hinkle spent most of the 1990s traveling the world in search of artists, studying their techniques and building an art collection based on the figure. He launched The Figurative in 1998 with the clear goal of presenting a group of artists that drew their inspiration from the human or animal form. Hinkle is an expert in contemporary sculpture and a trained art appraiser. He holds a certificate from New York University in fine and decorative art appraisals and is a member of the Appraisers Association of America and the International Society of Appraisers.

Artist information and imagery can be seen at The Figuratives website: http://www.thefigurative.com. The site also features current, past and future exhibits allowing worldwide visitors a glimpse into the gallerys world of figurative art.

The gallery represents artists from around the world including: Adrian Arleo (USA), Akira & Larry Blount (USA), Christina Bothwell (USA), Mark Chatterley, Chris Chomick & Peter Meder (USA), Jodi & Richard Creager (USA), James Croak (USA), Christine Federighi (USA), Marie E.v.B. Gibbons (USA), Uwe Haukenfrers & Juergen Peper (Germany), Emiko Kikuchi (Japan), Hennie Koffrie (The Netherlands), Masako Kurosawa (Japan), Axel Lukas (Germany), Vale Lyle (USA), Marlene Miller (USA), Cara Moczygemba (USA), Casey OConnor (USA), M. Elisabeth Higgins OConnor (USA), Kazuyo Oshima (France), Tim Shockley (USA), Connie Smith (USA), Lindsey Stohmeyer (USA), E J Taylor (England), Jo-Ellen Trilling (USA), Marlaine Verhelst (The Netherlands), Gary Wang (Canada), Sylvia Wanke (Germany), Etta Winigrad (USA) and Janis Mars Wunderlich (USA).
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