Black Rock Art Gallery
The ArtsThe gallery is located in the Black Rock Nature Center and exists as a space for presenting contemporary interpretations of themes related to the park. Exhibitions are made by selected JTNPA-funded Artists in Residence, as well as community and other artists.
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For Immediate Release: May 1, 2023
Contact: Alison Shoup, Alison_Shoup@nps.gov
Black Rock Art Gallery Opening of Groundwork Arts – Put a Face On It: Character Paintings
TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA— Joshua Tree National Park management is excited to announce a new exhibition of student creativity produced in partnership with Groundwork Arts, a Morongo Valley non-profit organization. This group brings professional practicing artists into local community schools to provide innovative educational opportunities to students, teachers, and families.
Artist, Nich Karp, is known for his autobiographical paintings capturing everyday moments with a whimsical twist. Using a variety of techniques, Nich builds stories around quirky characters who inhabit slightly distorted and dramatic spaces. Inspired by Nich, students chose an inanimate object to paint and gave it human characteristics. Their goal was to tell a story with a single image by exploring how facial features and color can communicate a feeling or a mood. “One of the most important experiences for an artist is to share their art with the rest of the world,” said Rhonda Lane Coleman, director of Groundwork Arts, “and we are thrilled that our community will have the opportunity to celebrate these amazing young artists.”
The exhibition will run from May 5 through June 27, 2023 at the Black Rock Art Gallery in the Black Rock Nature Center, located at 9800 Black Rock Canyon Rd, Yucca Valley, CA 92284. There will be an opening reception on Friday, May 5, 2023 from 5pm to 7pm. The building is open 7 days a week, 8am – 11am, 12pm-4pm. Summer hours begin the first week of June.
For more information about the program, please visit: Artist in Residence Program – Joshua Tree National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).
Date: March 23, 2023
Contact: Alison Shoup
Joshua Tree National Park management is excited to announce a new exhibition of student creativity produced in partnership with Groundwork Arts, a Morongo Valley non-profit organization. This group brings professional practicing artists into local community schools to provide innovative educational opportunities to students, teachers, and families.
Yucca Valley artist, Juan Thorp, enjoys automatism- a relaxing and creative process that allows the unconscious mind to create by drawing with no plan or preconceived idea – just put pencil to paper and let the drawing create itself. Using this method, Thorp creates daily drawings on cards that are meant to be traded. Inspired by Thorp’s method, and the production of his trading cards, students created their own drawings experimenting with this Surrealist practice of drawing automatically. Abstract images emerged, recognizable objects suggested themselves, and many images were further developed. A large selection of student art trading cards will be displayed in this show.
The exhibition will run from March 31 through April 26 at the Black Rock Art Gallery in the Black Rock Nature Center, located at 9800 Black Rock Canyon Rd, Yucca Valley, CA 92284. There will be an opening reception on Friday, March 31, 2023 from 5pm to 7pm. The building is open 7 days a week, 8am – 11am, 12pm-4pm.
Date: January 4, 2023
Contact: Alison Shoup
Joshua Tree National Park management is pleased to announce a new art exhibition by Joshua Tree-based artist Ben Allanoff. RUST is an exhibition of rust prints on canvas made using rusted steel, usually found as scraps. Several of the works incorporate steel elements, while others carry the rusted imprint of the steel on canvas.
Ben Allanoff works primarily with plant material, steel, wire, and found objects. He creates large scale outdoor installations, smaller tabletop sculptures, and 2D artworks. Ben grew up near Philadelphia, PA and graduated from Duke University.
The exhibition will run from January 13, 2023 until March 28, 2023, at the Black Rock Art Gallery in the Black Rock Nature Center, located at 9800 Black Rock Canyon Rd, Yucca Valley, CA 92284. There will be an opening reception on Friday January 13, 2023 from 5pm to 7pm. The building is open 7 days a week, 8am – 11am, 12pm-4pm.