Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh Headlines High Desert Art Fair in Pioneertown
PIONEERTOWN, CA – The historic Pioneertown Motel is undergoing a temporary transformation, with its rooms serving as exhibition spaces for the fifth annual High Desert Art Fair, which began today. The event, drawing an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 visitors daily, features 20 galleries and publishers and extends beyond visual art to include panel discussions, guided meditation, and a sound bath.
Headlining a Saturday night event at the nearby Pappy & Harriet’s honky-tonk roadhouse is Mark Mothersbaugh, best known as the frontman of the band Devo. However, this performance will deviate from a typical concert. Mothersbaugh will perform with “The General,” described as a hybrid instrument and sculpture, just weeks before Devo is scheduled to play at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.
The fair’s founders, Los Angeles art dealer Nicholas Fahey and artist manager Candice Lawler, launched the event in 2019 with the ambition of establishing the high desert as a significant cultural destination. “We needed to give them a reason to arrive here,” Fahey said, referring to persuading friends and collectors to visit the region. The pair envision the area becoming a cultural hub comparable to Marfa, Texas, or the Hamptons of New York.
This year’s exhibitors include a mix of established and emerging Los Angeles galleries, such as Megan Mulrooney, John Doe Gallery, Gross! Gallery, and Wienholt Projects, alongside Mothersbaugh’s MutMuz Gallery and local organizations like BoxoPROJECTS and Yucca Valley Material Lab. The fair’s programming as well includes a panel discussion featuring Jenny Gil, executive director of Desert X, the large-scale art exhibition held in the Coachella Valley and AlUla, Saudi Arabia.
A rare live conversation between Mothersbaugh and street artist Shepard Fairey, creator of the “OBEY” image, is scheduled for Saturday at the Pioneertown Motel Speakeasy. Moderated by Lawler, the discussion will also include author and musician Harper Simon, and will focus on art, music, rebellion, and sustaining a creative career. Fairey, who has also contributed a DJ set to the fair’s opening night, noted the high desert’s appeal as a creative environment, describing it as having a “fascinating blend of hippie and libertarian sensibilities” and being more affordable than Los Angeles.
The Pioneertown Motel, opened in 1946 by Roy Rogers and Gene Autry as part of a western movie set town, is currently owned by brothers Mike and Matt French. The motel’s rooms, named after western stars like Autry, Rogers, and Dale Evans, have had their western-style furniture temporarily removed to accommodate the art displays.
The High Desert Art Fair paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, briefly occupying several Airbnbs before settling at the Pioneertown Motel in 2023. Its growth, from initial gatherings in Lawler’s living room, has surprised even its organizers. “I thought we’d be this size five years [from now],” Lawler stated.
Local artists and organizations also see value in the fair’s presence. Heidi Schwegler, co-founder of Yucca Valley Material Lab, a nonprofit residency and creative compound, noted the exposure the fair provided last year, with approximately 40 people continuously filling their exhibition space. Bernard Leibov, founder of BoxoPROJECTS, welcomed the increased visibility but cautioned against equating the high desert to Marfa, emphasizing Joshua Tree’s more independent character as an unincorporated community. He also highlighted the need for professional platforms for artists in the region, stating, “Commerce is not a dirty [word] in the art world.”
A benefit dinner will support Andrea Zittel’s High Desert Test Sites, an artist-run platform offering residencies on her 80-acre compound. VIP tours will also be offered, showcasing regional artworks and architecture, including Rachel Whiteread’s “Ghost Cabins” and Arata Isozaki’s “Desert Rooms.”