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Quint Contemporary Art is pleased to be participating in PALM SPRINGS FINE ART FAIR

Opening Preview Thursday, February 16
Palm Springs Convention Center

Quint Contemporary Art is pleased to present a solo presentation of new works by KIM MACCONNEL

The first annual Palm Springs Fine Art Fair is set to blow the cover off one the country’s best-kept secrets. As one of the premier winter resorts in America, the Palm Springs area is also a sparkling cultural gem—home to a major museum (Palm Springs Art Museum and our Opening Preview beneficiary), thriving gallery scene (60+ galleries), and a strong base of serious collectors and patrons.

“I try to paint a glass in total restraint of any personal involvement, and without a flicker of emotion. Each one is a new one. In any observation of reality, no one ‘glass painting’ is exactly like the one before – similar to an industrial product – but original within a series – without uniqueness – without ‘stroke of genius.’”

– Peter Dreher, 1994

Quint Contemporary Art is pleased to announce the opening of Drawings and Paintings, Peter Dreher’s fifth solo exhibition at the gallery. There will be an opening reception for the artist on May 7, from 6 to 8 PM. The exhibition will feature two-dozen “Tag um Tag Guter Tag (Day by Day a Good Day)” paintings as well as a dozen “Vitrine” still-life paintings and a group of Dreher’s new flower drawings.

Maximum minimalism: Icelandic artist Gudmundsson’s striking works at Quint, his first solo exhibition, are striking

By Robert L. Pincus, UNION-TRIBUNE ART CRITIC / BOOKS EDITOR

“I am trying to work within the field of tension that exists between nothing and something.”

— Kristjan Gudmundsson

Perhaps you have never asked yourself: Is there a sophisticated art scene in Iceland? And it would be understandable if you didn’t think there was, since its population is small and it’s remote from art centers like New York or Berlin.

The answer, though, is yes — and, in fact, Kristjan Gudmundsson, a leading Icelandic artist, has exhibited in Berlin, among other places. But it’s unlikely he would have exhibited in San Diego, if not for the interest that Mark Quint has taken in some of the work being made there.

Quint Contemporary Art has had several addresses in the past 30 years, but wherever it has been — downtown, Mission Hills, the Miramar area or La Jolla — the gallery has been a space you just had to visit. My history of seeing shows there spans 24 years; and from the first, I sensed that Mark Quint was the real thing, with his enormous passion for art and artists.

Happily, that intuition proved correct. But who knew that he was going to be able to sustain his space(s) for so long, in a town where collectors of serious contemporary art aren’t exactly plentiful?

It isn’t easy to pinpoint how he has accomplished this. But there are certain qualities that have worked in his favor: a keen eye for artists of vision and substance; the desire to stick with them; a curiosity about new artists; and a personality that appeals to museum professionals, collectors and, yes, critics, too. He was also willing to bring artists from afar for residencies (in partnership with Michael Krichman), which yielded a string of memorable shows.

QUINT: Three Decades of Contemporary Art

at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido Museum

August 15 – December 31, 2009

Special preview Saturday, August 15th from 6 – 9PM

340 N. Escondido Blvd.
Escondido, CA 92025
www.artcenter.org

Cocktails, hors d’ oeuvres, entertainment & live music.
$10 per person for non-members, free to Center Members.

RSVP to (760) 839-4120

The California Center for the Arts, Escondido Museum is pleased to present Quint: Three Decades of Contemporary Art. The exhibition, based on the program of one of San Diego County’s most influential galleries, will open on August 15th and continue through December 31st, 2009. Works in the exhibition, the majority of which have been borrowed from Southern California museums and private collections, present an extraordinary survey of the range of regional, national, and international artists supported and promoted by Quint Gallery over nearly thirty years.

Since opening his first gallery in La Jolla in 1981, Mark Quint adopted a unique, almost nomadic approach to the business of contemporary art. Rather than establishing itself in a permanent location and then expanding over time, Quint Gallery would more often adapt its spaces and program according to the needs of the artists it was interested in presenting. From formal gallery and raw open spaces in downtown San Diego, to large industrial workspaces for artists near Miramar Naval Air Base, to unexpected (and often elegant) spaces secluded in back alleys in Hillcrest or La Jolla, Quint Gallery has maintained the flexibility to represent artists employing a wide variety of practices, mediums, and formats.

There is nothing conventional about the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, Museum presenting a show devoted to a San Diego gallery. But then, there’s nothing conventional about the gallery itself.

In 1981, Mark Quint opened the Quint Gallery in La Jolla to showcase his art and that of his friends. Soon, he focused on just the works of others. But instead of staying stagnant in a permanent space, he sought out places to adapt to the needs of the artist. His galleries soon became the rave of the contemporary art scene in San Diego, whether he showcased art in a large industrial building near the Miramar military base, in formal gallery or in a back alleyway in Hillcrest.

“The gallery has gone through several different permeations,” explained Quint. “We started slow with a more traditional gallery. Then it was a residency program. I’ve always enjoyed working with artists directly. If anything, that’s what my gallery is devoted to.”