CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’

THIS WEST COAST ART COLLECTION COMBINES SEVERAL AESTHETICS FOR A DYNAMIC MIX OF PAINTINGS.

By John O’Hern

Our collectors’ home in the Palm Springs, California, area is 2,000 miles and lightyears away from their home on the East Coast. His mother had a gallery in San Francisco and he grew up collecting, later developing an early interest in 19th-century French prints and drawings. The French connection comfortably carries over to their California house in an eclectic mix of tramp art and contemporary paintings of Palm Springs’ midcentury aesthetic.

A midcentury lithograph by Henri Matisse (1869-1954) fits comfortably in the sparse and bright spaces of the home (the couple protects their collection from the direct sun of the desert with filtering film and drapes at the windows). The collector purchased the Matisse from a California book dealer friend. It was heavily foxed but was restored by an East Coast conservator. Foxing is an age-related process that affects works on paper and appears as brown spots and discoloration. A conservator can remove it without compromising the integrity of the paper.

The collector relates how he was trying to help a friend form a collection. They saw a Matisse lithograph at a print show and he told his friend, “One of us is going to be leaving with that print.” The gears meshed and his friend was the one to leave with it. In the last three months, his friend has purchased 40 pieces for his own collection.

The French connection continues with a painting by André Minaux (1923-1986). The collector says, “Minaux went through five or six different periods. I’ve always liked his work. I found this piece on eBay for $500. This painting is very geometric. It doesn’t have to harmonize with what’s around it.”

He likes to learn about the artists he collects, often reading their letters to learn more about them from their unguarded moments. He explains, “I want to learn what’s going on in their lives and what’s happening in the world around them and I do research on what they’re writing about. We also like collecting California artists like Eric Nash.” Nash’s 2:00 AM in the couple’s collection is typical of his nocturnal scenes, film stills from what some have christened “California Noir.”

Another California artist who takes a lighter approach to the history of the region is Danny Heller. Heller says, “I paint the reality of the American environment: how structures once revered for their groundbreaking ideas in design and social planning have been perpetuated and how they have been forgotten. Primarily focusing on the nation’s midcentury identity, I play with lighting, dramatic angles and specific colors to form engaging paintings that capture architectural elements.”

Heller and his wife have become friends of the collector and his wife who have collected his paintings extensively. “We purchased one of his paintings here in Palm Springs because we like his type of realism that focuses on the midcentury modern design of the area as well as that of New York City,” the collector says. “His paintings have a special light. There’s a coolness to the colors with a spot of brighter color somewhere. You think you’re seeing the real thing but, of course, you’re not. Up close you can see his technique. We’ve since bought many more of his paintings, working with George Billis Gallery in Los Angeles.”

Also in their collection is Heller’s only Paris painting. The two couples were vacationing in Paris when the collector asked the artist to paint an image of the city. Known for his paintings of houses and cars, he painted a scene of a house and a car with a self-portrait in the reflection in a window.

Unique among the Hellers in the collection is a painted piano done for a fundraiser for the LA Chamber Orchestra. In 2012, Play Me, I’m Yours brought 30 pianos, decorated by area artists, to the streets of Los Angeles for the public to play as they wished. He notes, “My wife bought Danny’s piano on eBay. We didn’t tell him, so he was pleasantly surprised when he came to visit.”

Since the collectors are open to what moves them, their collection is eclectic and personal. “We don’t have a single philosophy of collecting,” he explains. They saw a tramp art desk in an estate sale shop. “It’s a wonderful piece but we didn’t know what it was. We liked its lines and we had room for it. We learned that during the Depression people turned to making folk art to survive. They used whatever materials were at hand. The drawers in the desk are made from cigar boxes and we were able to date the desk from the price of cigars printed on one of the boxes.”

He continues, “We’re thrilled if the contemporary works in our collection go up in value, because it means the artists are advancing in their careers.”

1 To the left is Eric Nash’s 2:00 AM, 2016, charcoal on paper. Above the fireplace is Danny Heller’s Eichler with Galaxie, 2016, oil on canvas. On the right is Christopher Stott’s 1¢, Thank You, 2018, oil canvas. On the right wall is Heller’s Wexler Reflection, 2014, oil canvas.

4 Danny Heller’s Poolside Lounge Chairs, 2016, oil on canvas.

5 Through the doorway is Skinny Bones, 1995, silkscreen, by Will Eisner (1917-2005). To the right of the doorway is Danny Heller’s Wexler Reflection, 2014, oil on canvas. In the niche is Wayne Jiang’s The Museum Visitor #2, 2015, acrylic on panel. On the right is Heller’s Spiral Staircase, 2013, oil on canvas.

6 Over the piano is Danny Heller’s Theme Building and Road, 2011, oil on canvas. Heller painted the piano and bench in 2012 for the City of Los Angeles’ Play Me, I’m Yours street piano program. Artist-painted pianos were placed around the city for passersby to play. This piano was placed at Los Angeles City Hall. On the adjoining wall are Heller’s 2011 oils on canvas, The Chairman’s Path and Eichler Atrium Afternoon. On the back wall on right are photographs of flowers by John Hanford.

8 Danny Heller’s Self-Portrait #1, 2015, oil on canvas, is on the left. He can be seen in a reflection in the window taking the photo of a house in Paris. On the right is Atelier 1, 1975, oil on canvas, by André Minaux (1923-1986).

9 Danny Heller’s Plymouth in Driveway, 2012, oil on canvas, hangs in the bedroom.