Thursday, Nov. 21, was a big day for local artist Elena Bulatova: She celebrated the opening of her second gallery, this one in downtown Palm Springs, with a ribbon-cutting featuring Mayor Steve Pougnet.
The celebration continues from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13, when Elena Bulatova Fine Art will hold a reception to celebrate the opening.
I first met Elena Bulatova at her Backstreet Art District gallery, at 2652 S. Cherokee Way. I was impressed by her work, her international lifestyle and her world-class education. The first gallery has been a success for Bulatova; she’s now in her third season in Palm Springs. Not bad for a relatively new arrival in the desert.
Bulatova credited her parents for exposing her to various art museums during their travels. She honed her skills with seven years in art school; she painted, danced and even played the violin in the chamber orchestra at Moscow State University. She then came to the United States to study economics at Yale.
“To be a successful artist, it is not just knowing how to paint,” she told me during an email conversation. “Running the galleries is separate business that includes managing people, client relations, marketing, social media, contacts with press, accounting, financial planning, etc. Success doesn’t come overnight, and many years of studies … helped me to grow in my career as an artist.”
Her art is bright and vivid, often featuring perfect compositions. While she works mostly with primary colors, she also has a series of muted, darker mixed-media works with an iridescent metallic quality. The new Palm Canyon Drive gallery boasts new hand-blown glass pieces, adding a dramatic element to the high ceilings and open space in this unique building across from the Hyatt.
The new gallery will also show carved paintings on panel and bronze sculptures by Delos Van Earl; Larry Weitz’s abstract paintings; and “screw art” by Efraim Mashiah. Starting in January, the gallery will also host monthly exhibitions.
I asked her who was collecting her art.
“My paintings can be found in many private collections, locally in California and all over U.S., but we see a lot of international tourists coming from different countries to Palm Springs,” she said via email. “I shipped paintings to Canada, Mexico, Australia and Europe.”
Why did this woman who grew up in Russia choose the desert as the place to make and sell her art? Why not a place like, say, Miami? (In fact, she’s taking part in the Red Dot Art Fair in Miami right now, in conjunction with Miami Beach’s world-famous Art Basel show.)
“I think the desert art scene has a lot of potential,” she told me, later adding that Miami has too many distractions compared to the relative serenity of the desert. “Palm Springs is very close to Los Angeles, and there are a lot of people visiting. Miami once became a hub for contemporary artists with the coming of Art Basel to the city, which grew in 10 years and attracted numerous satellite fairs and artists to relocate there. We (have) the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, and its third season is coming. There are already a lot of creative people here—and more coming.”
Bulatova said she opened the second gallery because of the growth in the art industry and because of the potential of Palm Springs. She found the new location, took a month to remodel it, and presto: The new gallery came to be.
There is no doubt in my mind that the new gallery will bring much success to Bulatova—and allow more people to experience her wonderful art.
Elena Bulatova Fine Art’s new downtown Palm Springs location is located at 232 N. Palm Canyon Drive. The gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with extended hours on Thursdays during Palm Springs VillageFest. An opening reception will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 13. For more information, call 760-600-0417, or visit www.ElenaBulatovaFineArt.com.
