Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West will feature two masters, Andy Warhol and Billy Schenck, and their spin on the West in a traveling exhibition now on view.
Western Pop: Andy Warhol & Billy Schenck is a dynamic exhibition celebrating these exemplary artists that first debuted at the Briscoe Western Art Museum in 2018. The show proudly came to Scottsdale in June 2023, and runs through November 26, breathing new life into an already immortalized era but with a fresh perspective. The exhibit is made up of two individual exhibitions: Andy Warhol: Cowboys & Indians and Billy Schenck: Myth of the West.
Billy Schenck, Deep Into the Desert, 2009, oil on canvas. Courtesy the artist.
In Western Spirit’s announcement, the museum’s chief curator, Tricia Loscher, says, “We are thrilled to unveil these two contemporary Western art exhibitions together and offer our visitors a fresh perspective to experience, explore and compare the nostalgia of the American West through the eyes of two iconic American Pop artists,” she says. “Andy Warhol and Billy Schenck’s work showcases the diversity of perspectives and the richness of the American West’s cultural heritage.”
Billy Schenck, Geoff Stared, 2011, oil on canvas. Courtesy the artist.
When talking about the curation process, Loscher likened the experience of putting everything together to preparing for a theatrical performance. They leave nothing to coincidence, meticulously creating a cohesive Western environment by two masters of the Pop Art movement that not only serves their work but the audience’s own interpretations.
The exhibit starts with Warhol, more synonymous with his Campbell soup cans and Marilyn Monroe than the Wild West, but his Cowboys & Indians portfolio harkens back to a time when Hollywood stars belonged to the West, consuming living rooms and silver screens all over the country. Even more intriguing is knowing that Cowboys & Indians was one of Warhol’s last projects before passing away in 1987. The portfolion put his stamp on the genre with works including Annie Oakley, John Wayne and Geromino.
Billy Schenck, Blazing Saddle Horns, 1990, oil on canvas. Courtesy the artist.
Seamlessly, Cowboys & Indians leads into Billy Schenck’s Myth of the West exhibition featuring 29 works including Blazing Saddle Horns, Deep into the Desert and Geoff Stared, showcasing the larger-than-life career he’s made of exploring the cinematic side of the West, both fact and fiction. Schenck, who was influenced by Warhol and even knew him in New York City, brings the viewer into what feels like a full-circle moment between the legends of his subjects and how they complement Western iconography.
Andy Warhol (1928-1987), John Wayne, 1986, screenprint. Courtesy of the Briscoe Western Art Museum, gift of the Jack and Valerie Gunther Foundation. 2019.13.02.
In addition to his exhibition, Schenck will also be presenting a must-see event on November 1. “Paramount Western Pop Art: The Art and Life of Billy Schenck” will allow the artist to revisit his life, art and career, and conduct a Q&A with attendees.
For more information about the two exhibitions and the Schenck presentation, visit the museum website. —
Western Pop: Andy Warhol & Billy Schenck
Through November 26, 2023; Billy Schenck presentation and Q&A, Nov. 1
Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, 3830 N. Marshall Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 686-9539, www.scottsdalemuseumwest.org
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