Artists don’t need permission from their audience to explore. And yet, when an audience—be it collectors, fans or curious onlookers—responds to a new body of work with resounding enthusiasm, they are waving green flags at the artists to continue exploring. The mandate is clear: “Onward, onward, onward.”
Study for Night Shepherd, oil on canvas, 30 x 24"
In 2019, Sean Michael Chavez presented a solo show at Acosta Strong Fine Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Modestly expecting to sell a painting or two, the Albuquerque-based painter was shocked when he sold out the whole show. Annual shows thereafter in 2020, 2021 and 2022 were also met with sold-out presentations. “I have always painted for myself, without consideration of other things. So, to have people respond to what I was making was a revelation to me,” says the artist. “They were giving me permission to go deeper, to go further than I had ever expected.”
Sean Michael Chavez in his New Mexico studio.
Chavez will once again treat collectors with a new solo show, this one titled Grand Horizons, at Acosta Strong, located at the base of the famous Canyon Road, an arts and culture hub near the center of Santa Fe. The show opens August 7 and runs through August 24. An artist reception will be held on August 11, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Trucha, oil on linen, 30 x 24"
Carlos Acosta, owner of Acosta Strong Fine Art, is excited that Chavez will be returning to the gallery. “Grand Horizons promises to be another big show in many ways for S.M. Chavez. His work continues to develop not only in scale and breadth, but in execution and vision. His recent and rapid success has given him permission to explore and create paintings that would normally still be many years out of reach for most artists. He has seized the moment. We are very excited to present this show.”
The new work will focus on Chavez’s recent fascination: vaqueros within the Southwest desert. “This is not my first show with vaquero paintings. Right now I’m refining it and trying to get better at speaking in my own voice,” Chavez says. “Many of the pieces are big. Before I even started I drew a map of the gallery and measured the walls. I wanted to know how I could best use the space without overfilling or underfilling the walls. I wanted all the works to go together, even if the space determined I could only do five paintings. But I came up with 15, so that’s what I’m aiming for.”
Luna, oil on canvas, 30 x 24"
One of the highlights of the new show is Grande Horizon, a massive 96-inch-wide painting showing a figure perched on a rocky outcropping, his trusty mule by his side as the clouds and sky are draped around them. “Some subjects just lend themselves to larger canvases and this is one of them. Artists can get trapped thinking about smaller things, but I decided I wanted to think more about my life’s work and museum-quality work, which is how this one ended up so large. It might be impractical to create a work that big, but it will find the right collector. While creating it, I became blind to my vision and just kept pushing forward on it,” he says. “For the mule, I wanted to paint it in the same spirit I paint the vaquero. Mules are the unsung heroes of the West. The horse gets more credit and is glorified, maybe even placed on a pedestal, but the mule is more trusted and can even be more of a workhorse if you will excuse the metaphor.”
Grande Horizon, oil on canvas, 60 x 96"
Many of the new pieces show figures draped in all varieties of textiles and weavings, which gives each painting texture and color. Grande Horizon has a green textile, while Brassa has a light purple and Luna’s is deep blue with hints of green. All of them are based on antique weavings in the artist’s collections. “I only have two or three and I want to get some more eventually,” he adds.
One returning quality within these new works is the underpainting that reaches out through the paint. It allows Chavez to show his process, but also gives the paintings a raw presence. The trick is to isolate elements of the drawing and underpainting, but also cover them up enough to have some finish on top of them. “I feel an obligation to preserve parts of the earlier stages, to let them shine through,” the artist says. “And yet, I also love the more refined look of the top layers.”
Brassa, oil on canvas, 48 x 48"
A newer characteristics of his work include short brushstrokes in alternating colors, which have qualities of pointillism. This can be seen especially clearly in Brassa, which is filled with small strokes that add texture to the sky, clouds and clothing on the vaquero. “One of my first experiences with the fine art world was with the impressionists. I used to live in Boston so I had access to amazing museums where I could see their works in person. I would look at Monet, Renoir, Degas and others. Those influences are definitely showing up more and more,” Chavez says. “It’s fun for me to be inspired in those ways.”
Grand Horizons continues through August 24 in Santa Fe. —
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