A Western Convergence, Show Preview, Western Art Collector, August 2015

INSIDE Contemporary Native Art • Roseta Santiago • Allan Houser • SWAIA Indian Market AUGUST 2015

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UPCOMING SHOW

S HOW LO C AT ION JAC K S ON, W Y

Up to 25 works August 1-30, 2015 Trailside Galleries 130 E. Broadway Jackson, WY 83001 (307) 733-3186

Western convergence

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his August, five of the country’s leading Western artists will come together for a new group exhibition at Trailside Galleries in Jackson, Wyoming. The show, titled A Western Convergence, features Bill Anton, Logan Maxwell Hagege, Z.S. Liang, Jim C. Norton, and Tim Solliday. Each of the artists has created five new works specifically for the show, highlighting the styles and subjects for which they are known.

Among the pieces Hagege will have in the exhibit are Drifting On By, Family Tradition, and Mesa Rodeo. All three works include his signature billowing, yet angular clouds, and Native American or cowboy subject matter centered prominently in front. In Drifting On By, for example, three Native Americas and two horses fill the composition; and in Mesa Rodeo a cowboy sits atop a bucking horse, a

mesa in the background.

“Every time I approach a blank canvas, I try to bring a painting that will show what my own personal interpretation of the West is,” says Hagege. “I have fuzzy images in my head of things that I have seen while out on the road, traveling through the desert. My visual memory is as important to me as is my photography and on-location studies. My interest isn’t in a photograph representation of the West. Rather, I am interested in saying what I want to say about the West and show how I feel about it.

The desert can be seen as a desolate wasteland, but I see interesting shapes and patterns, as well as a sense of adventure and excitement. If these elements come through in my work, then I feel that the paintings are worthy of showing publicly.”

Solliday takes an illustrative approach to

the West, as seen in his painting Three Close Friends. “I wanted to show a cowboy and horse standing on a cliff with a panoramic view in the background. As I worked out a few sketches, I thought of a loyal dog with them and how much these three would be together out of doors,” Solliday describes of the painting.

“With this as my storyline, I couldn’t help thinking of how close they would become.

I also brought back memories of a horse I once owned and how on long rides one can’t help feeling closeness to this old friend. I think it is part of the spirit of the cowboy.”

Recognized for his narrative Native American paintings wrought with culture and traditions, Liang will present in the exhibit The Guardian of the Bear Spear and Voice of the Canyon, among others.

Of Voice of the Canyon, Liang shares, “An ancient sacred song was played through this long wooden Indian flute. The mellow low sound resonated in the vast space of the canyon. My Apache friend Little Bow posed for this painting. He is the sacred pipe keeper of his clan, a great flute player and an exceptional dancer. He taught me a great deal about his culture and told me many old stories of the Apache.”

Liang tells of a story of the Blackfeet tribe in his painting The Guardian of the Bear Spear. “Perhaps the most sacred and powerful weapon among the Blackfeet tribes is the Bear Spear. It carries the spirit and power of a bear,” he says. “The staff is wrapped with bear fur and a piece of tanned head skin. A bunch of eagle feathers is attached to the end of the long blade.”

In his paintings, Norton shows both historical and modern depictions of the West.

As the gallery explains, “His painterly use of colors brings life to the stunning vistas portrayed within his art. Jim particularly loves to express his personal experiences living and Jim C. Norton, The Owl Society, oil, 24 x 32"

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Logan Maxwell Hagege, Drifting On By, oil on canvas, 24 x 36"

Logan Maxwell Hagege, Mesa Rodeo, oil on linen, 30 x 30

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Bill Anton, Wyoming Conference Call, oil on linen, 32 x 50"

Z.S. Liang, Voice of the Canyon, oil on linen, 36 x 51"

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Tim Solliday, Three Close Friends, oil on canvas, 32 x 46"

traveling through the West, working with cowboys and Native Americans.” One of his pieces in the show is The Owl Society.

Anton, based in Arizona, paints the life and times of the contemporary working cowboy in his much lauded impressionistic style. “Whenever I show a group of paintings I always think in terms of variety. It is rare that I paint on a theme, such as all nocturnes or all high-key. Having said that, there is always the thread of the working cowboy as my primary focus, with the exception of the rare straight landscape,” says Anton of his work. “But there will be not only variety of size, from small to fairly large, but variety in palette and variety in depiction from quiet moments to actionfilled, as well as simple to complex. I’ve always felt it was important to show ‘range’ in your abilities.”

Wyoming Conference Call is one of Anton’s paintings that will be on view in

the exhibition. “I’ve been visiting northern ranches lately—Wyoming and Montana.

Painting a complex grouping of a crew of cowboys together is relatively rare for me, but the challenge is compelling,” Anton explains of the inspiration for the work. “Beyond that, I am always interested in portraying the man on horseback in the landscape. Cowboys and horses are an inseparable part of the rural and backcountry West for me. This one is loosely set in that incredible country between Cody and Yellowstone.”

A Western Convergence will take place August 1 to 30, with an open house on August 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. The paintings in the show will be sold during the open house via a fixed price draw at 6:30 p.m.

Fo r a d i re c t l i n k to t he e x h i b it i n g g a l l e r y g o to w w w. we ste r n a r tc o l l e c to r. c o m

Z.S. Liang, The Guardian of the Bear Spear, oil on linen, 60 x 34"

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