LOOKOUT Series 1: Marcia Geiger, Ben Allanoff and Anna Stump

LOOKOUT: An outside look at inside art.
Joshua Tree Art Gallery 61607 Twentynine Palms Highway, Joshua Tree, CA 92252
May Artists: Marcia Geiger, Ben Allanoff and Anna Stump
On view: May 16 – May 31 | Open Hours: Ongoing (Gallery is closed but visible FROM OUTSIDE.)

As we reflect and shift with the daily changes and effects of COVID-19, the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council is commited to the health and safety of our community. During this time art has the power to connect, uplift and inspire everyone. While most residents are staying at home and reevaluating the new normal, the downtown Joshua Tree commercial strip remains active as our neighbors and the farmer's market remain open.

To continue our mission to inspire and enliven the community through the arts we present LOOKOUT, a new exhibition series in the front window of the Joshua Tree Art Gallery. Artists Marcia Geiger, Ben Allanoff and Anna Stump kick off the series showcasing a rotating lineup of figurative and abstract paintings. Featured artists will change monthly and the window display will change weekly as long as our galleries remain closed.

We aim to catch the eye of passersby and shift their current outlook to one of inspiration and intrigue. Stay positive, stay safe and continue to make and appreciate art.

SERIES 1: MAY

May Artists: Marcia Geiger, Ben Allanoff and Anna Stump

The abstract paintings on view are a collaboration between Anna  Stump and Ben  Allanoff. First, Anna selected some unfinished canvases from Ben, which had rust marks on them.  Anna painted on these canvases and passed them back to Ben who did some more painting. There was very little conversation between the two artists and enormous amounts of trust and openness. The results could be described as multi-layered intuitive collective mark-making.  Both artists acknowledge, with gratitude, the influence of the great Franz Kline (American 1910-1962).

Ben Allanoff is an artist based in Joshua Tree, CA, who works mostly with plant material, steel, and wire.  He also makes paintings using rust on canvas, or ink on paper, and creates large scale installations, working with institutions such as the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Garden; the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area; The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Gardens, and the City of Oakland.

For a decade Ben ran an environmental non-profit devoted to minimizing the negative impacts of human activity on a rich and vulnerable watershed adjacent to the City of Los Angeles.  He grew up near Philadelphia, PA, attended the University of Pennsylvania, and graduated from Duke University.  Ben’s work tends to be informed by a deep connection to nature and a desire to give physical form to the invisible and intangible forces that animate our world.
Artist website: benallanoff.com

Anna Stump is an artist and arts educator living in Twentynine Palms and Los Angeles. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree at Occidental College and her Master of Fine Arts at San Diego State University. She is currently developing an artist residency and arts center in her new desert home.

Her newest work, “Desert Metal Series,” has developed from her experiences cleaning up a bone yard/trash dump, picking through piles of metal aged by the harsh climate. She is exploring themes of skyscapes, desert wildlife, jackrabbit homesteads, military bases, and the general weirdness that is the High Desert.
Artist Website: annastump.com | Residency website: desertdairy.com

Marcia Geiger started her career as an oil painter after moving to Joshua Tree, CA in 1989. Primarily self taught, for the first year or two she took weekly lessons in oil painting at the Joshua Tree community center from Irene Scoggin-Bertrand. She started volunteering for the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council in 2010, mainly helping with, and participating in, the Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tour. She has been on the MBCAC Board since 2015, and currently serves as president. She is also a member of the Palm Springs Artists Council and the 29 Palms Artist’s Guild in Twentynine Palms, CA.

Her artistic focus is on oil painting and her subjects range from abandoned buildings in desert ghost towns and old homestead cabins, to local landscapes and desert fauna. Her remote private studio north of Joshua Tree provides her with the open space, peace, and solitude she finds necessary to allow her creative inspirations to grow and flourish. “Desert living has been a vital part of my life as an artist, which began 30 years ago when I moved to Joshua Tree. The desert contains a wealth of new subjects yet to be found."
Artist website: geigarts.com

Please email gallery-director@mbcac.org if interested in purchasing work.