Special to the PVT The TBAG art gallery will host a reception for photographer Laurie Naiman 1-5 p.m. Saturday at the gallery at Tecopa Hot Springs Resort in Tecopa, Calif. Advertisement

TECOPA, Calif. -- On Saturday, another exhibit is opening at the Tecopa Basin Artist Group Gallery. The display will be 17 prints of unusual range and beauty by Northern California photographer Laurie Naiman.

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Naiman is a self-taught photographer with a special interest in fine art photography. He has attended workshops and seminars by various photographers including Mark Citret, Richard Martin and Huntington Witherill.

He is a resident of Palo Alto and Shoshone, Calif. Naiman describes his approach to capturing the complexity and charm of the Amargosa basin and Death Valley in this way:

"During my many visits to the Death Valley area over the past seventeen years, I've been attracted not only to the desert's iconic dunes, dramatic skies and landscapes, but also to its less striking elements, such as deteriorating buildings and plant life, abandoned objects, and displaced animals.

"I've approached these subjects with the same focus on interest, design and irony. The prints I've chosen to display reflect my collective 'portrait' of the area. I hope these images convey some of this sense of discovery and perhaps evoke your own curiosity to explore this fascinating corner of desert history."

The historic Tecopa Hot Springs Resort itself is a desert treasure and a fitting venue for this exhibit. The resort is owned and managed by Amy Noel, a California native who worked at the Getty Museum for 21 years as a registrar and a collections and information manager.

She first came to the Death Valley region when she was 18 and fell in love with the dramatic landscape.

The Tecopa Basin Artist Group has become a much-needed venue where many accomplished local artists display their art an offer art courses to the community.

The exhibit of Naiman's prints will be a special and important complement to ambience of the resort and the professionalism of the gallery. The exhibit will open on March 7 and continue until March 31.

The gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by special appointment. There will be a reception with the artist at the gallery 1-5 p.m., Saturday.