BEVERLY HILLS—The Beverly Hills artSHOW will return to the region on Saturday and Sunday, May 20 and May 21. The event is free to the public and will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Beverly Gardens Park, along Santa Monica Boulevard, from Rodeo Drive to Rexford Drive.

According to a press release from the city of Beverly Hills, the BH artSHOW is now celebrating its 44th year, and delivers pieces from artists from Los Angeles, the Southwest, and throughout the United States to showcase and sell their work in Beverly Hills. Artwork covers dozens of media, including Ceramics, Digital Media, Drawing & Printmaking, Glass, Jewelry, two and three-dimensional Mixed-Media, Painting, Photography, Sculpture and Watercolor.

Featured artists include those whose work represents Flight, and in some cases, Flights of Fancy.

-Jean-christophe Dick, airplane pilot and aerial photographer, captures soaring visions of urban spaces, as does painter Bert Esenherz-Hewener, painting overhead views, almost plans, of a mythical urban city.

-Oil painter David Palmer catches hummingbirds in flight, along with a sensationally idealized atmosphere, in both his Hummingbird and Biosphere series. He presents a vision of the sky and air that we would all like to breathe.

-Sondra Wampler, a mixed media artist from New Mexico, creates large surrealistic landscapes of women and animals in gorgeous, fanciful settings.

-Desarae Lee, a printmaker from Salt Lake City whose drawings are slightly reminiscent of Edward Gorey, also portrays animals, people, and people-like animals. Circus performers, along with other mercurial, often airborne creatures grace her work.

-Demonstrating plein air artists will include John Kilduff, Carol Steinberg, and newcomer Lisa Baldwin. Other demonstrators will include mixed media artist Seda Saar and Deidre Green, who will both hold discussions of their work.

According to the show’s coordinator Karen McLean, close to 240 artists are expected at the event to participate in various categories, with two-dimensional being the largest. Category awards and major show awards, including the Mayor’s Purchase Award, Best of Show and Most Original Work, will be announced in a Sunday afternoon ceremony, at the show’s center, in front of the Lily Pond.

For attendees wanting to visit last year’s winning artists, the following will be at the May show:

-Best of Show: Brian Blackham, Medium – Painting

-Best Display: Karchi Perlmann, Medium – Photography

-1st Place in Digital Media, Tanya Doskova

-1st Place in Drawing and Printmaking, Varoujan Hovokimyan

-1st Place in Glass, Paul Harrie

-1st Place in Mixed Media/Two-Dimensional, Minas Halaj

-1st Place in Painting, Stephen Palladino

-1st Place in Sculpture, Theodore Gall

-1st Place in Watercolor, Bannon Fu

Guests will be able to enjoy live entertainment, children and family art projects, food trucks, a wine and dine garden, and a beer and brat garden at the event. Convenient, inexpensive parking will be located directly across from the show grounds.

The 2017 artSHOW sponsors and media partners include: David Frank Design, Engel & Volkers, RPM Mortgage, Longshot Espresso, the LA Weekly, the Los Angeles Art Association, Fabrik Magazine, LA Art Party, Yelp, and the Beverly Hills Conference and Visitor’s Bureau. Food and Beverage support come from Premiere Events, Stella Artois, and Hint Water. The show’s charitable partner is Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and its sister organization, Healing Art with Kids.

For additional information about the Beverly Hills artSHOW, visit www.beverlyhills.org/artshowinfo or call (310) 285-6830. For media inquiries, contact Dana Beesen at dbeesen@beverlyhills.org or call (310) 285-2530.