The Art of Rodeo features the works of three Wyoming artists: award-winning sculptor and former bull and bronc rider Chris Navarro; Western painter and former competitive bull rider Brandon Bailey; and photographer Randy Wagner, who captures scenes of the iconic Cheyenne Frontier Days and designed the event’s groundbreaking photo pit, in which a photo lens is set inches above the ground allowing for phenomenal action shots. The Art of Rodeo is both a traveling art show of the trio’s individual works, as well as a hardbound book that was released in June 2020, spanning 272 pages and more than 600 images. The show is currently being held at the Phippen Museum in Prescott, Arizona, through April 25.
Chris Navarro, Champion Lane Frost, bronze, 14 x 9”
Included in the exhibition is Navarro’s smaller-scale Fire in the Rein, as well as his 14-inch bronze Champion Lane Frost, which also comes in a monumental 15-foot form. “World champion bull rider Lane Frost lost his life at age 25 competing on July 30, 1989, at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo,” Navarro says of the inspiration behind the piece. “[The] Champion Lane Frost 15-foot-tall memorial monumental bronze sculpture is located at Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Cheyenne, Wyoming. This is always going to be my favorite sculpture because of all of the difficulties and challenges I went through to complete it,” he says.
Brandon Bailey, Lane Frost, Legends Never Die, oil, 24 x 36”
Bailey explains that a series of giclee prints of his original oils, which are part of the hardbound book, are also included in the exhibition. “The pieces depict various aspects of rodeo, which include the people as well as animals of the sport. The piece Lane Frost, Legends Never Die in particular depicts a historic moment of rodeo history,” Bailey says, referencing the untimely death of Frost. “I was able to use the photograph taken by Randy Wagner…as reference from that fateful day. This was a unique challenge as I was able to work from the black-and-white photo and cross reference video from that day to add the correct colors to the subject.”
Chris Navarro, Fire in the Rein, bronze, 10 x 9½ x 4½”
With many summer events canceled due to health and safety concerns, the exhibition and book allow passionate rodeo-goers the opportunity to still feel the action and energy of the rodeo. Works included in The Art of Rodeo draw upon the history of Wyoming’s Cheyenne Frontier Days, from its earliest days to the present. —
The Art of Rodeo
Through April 25, 2021
Phippen Museum
4701 Highway 89 North Prescott, AZ 86301
(928) 778-1385,
www.phippenartmuseum.org
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