CHRISTIAN HOHMANN FINE ART

What an evening: jd hansen simply swept our guests of their feet. She came to the gallery and we recreated her entire studio, working table and all, so that she could work on a clay sculpture – in front of 50 invited guests. Almost all of them were collectors of her work that were eager to meet her, but they did not expect (and neither did we) how wonderful this evening would be. While jd was working on a block of clay that, over the course of the evening, she turned into a beautiful meditating sitting figure, she also charmed the guests with a wonderful sparkling personality when she talked about her inspiration and explained her work in great detail.

Then she started to focus on her work and her foundry manager Sean gave a lecture about the process of bronze casting. jd had just finished her newest work “Icarus II” (see bottom of this post) which Sean brought directly from the foundry to the gallery and he had followed this piece in the foundry through the entire process of bronze casting. He even brought a small “Bird” sculpture in all the different stages of casting and handed them to our guests so that they could see first hand how much work is involved in creating even the smallest bronze sculpture. Not only did we all have a lot more appreciation for bronze sculpture after the lecture, but jd hansen had a special treat for our guests: At the end of the evening, everybody received the “Bird” sculpture that was handed around earlier as an example, cast in bronze in a beautiful velvet bag as a gift. It was jd’s way of saying “thank you” to her collectors and patrons, some of which have followed her since the days before she had gallery representation.

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“Icarus II” | bronze sculpture | Edition of 9 | 2010 | height: 60″

For more information or if you would like to acquire a jd hansen sculpture, please call the gallery at (760) 346-4243 or toll free (877) 977-CHFA (2432)

What an evening! Manzur Kargar, the up-and-coming artist from Berlin, who had temporarily moved to Los Angeles to finish his new series of paintings, came to the gallery to unveil his new work. His wife and daughter made the trip from Berlin ,Germany to be here for this important night and the gallery was filled with clients and collectors some of which traveled far to be in Palm Desert for this evening. Palm Springs Edge TV covered the opeing reception and other prominent members of the media where spotted such as Palm Springs Life Magazine editor Steven Biller and Melrose Heights Magazine publisher Curtis Williams. One historic moment took place during the evening. Art Collector and famous photographer Gunter Sachs met German actor Udo Kier. Sachs was the founder of the exclusive Dracula Club in St. Moritz in the 1970s and Udo Kier played the role of Dracula in Andy Warhol’s movie “Dracula”.

Manzur Kargar’s paintings will be on display in the gallery for one more week.

VIEW PALM SPRINGS EDGE TV \”Manzur Kargar Opening Reception\”

Born 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan, Kargar moved to Germany at a very young age and was raised in West-Berlin. He studied Fine Art/Painting in Braunschweig, Germany.

In his early work he depicted Roman-Greco mythology and created very contemporary paintings based on the ancient cultures. His recent work is a strong departure from the historical content.

Bold, provocative and sexy is the new language of his passionate paintings. His inspiration is the media and advertising world around us. While his earlier work depicted the gods and goddesses of the Antique, we find that his new work depicts the new icons of our Modern times.

Please save the date for the opening reception: Saturday, April 10th 2010 6-8pm. Kargar will come from Berlin to be here for the inveiling of his new series.

Please watch for our ad in the April issue of Palm Springs Life

It was silent like in a church when Neil Nagy made the first mark on the canvas and for the next two hours the gallery turned into a stage for the Bay Area Figurative artist. In the end the 40 invited collectors of his work were mesmerized by the talent and the courage to open up the intimate and very private process of painting to this select audience.

Neil Nagy, one of the most successful artists of the gallery, allowed a select audience to watch him work on an empty canvas, measuring 6’ x 18’. With his model present he began to sketch directly onto the canvas with charcoal and later he also worked with oil and acrylic paints as well. The guests were able to witness the pivotal moment of the artist beginning a new painting – a moment that many artists have talked and written about.

The title of the event was “The First Hour” (see previous post) and during the Q&A Neil Nagy narrowed it down. “It is more like ‘the first mark on the canvas’. You build up anticipation, almost anxiety and the energy level rises until it is unleashed in one initial moment of approaching the empty canvas and making the first mark” explains Nagy when asked about the concept of this performance.

After two hours the guests of the gallery were unanimous in their appreciation of this event. “Having been able to literally watch over the shoulder of an accomplished and professional artist like Neil while he is sketching and painting with his beautiful model present, changed my whole outlook and appreciation for his work. After only four lines you could recognize the model and then he took it to a whole new level.” was one of the comments that we captured after the event was over.

All in all an unforgettable evening and an event that will be remembered for a long time.