Blue Rain Gallery, A Passage Through Time, oil on canvas, 40 x 60”, by Doug West.

It isn’t entirely new, but there is something unique about contemporary Western art of the last 10 to 20 years that seems to indicate a changing of the tides: more museums are adding contemporary art to their permanent collections, more collectors are embracing it for their own collections and more artists are working in contemporary styles, whether they be New Mexico Modernism, cubism, abstraction or even robust sampling from multiple art movements to create something entirely new. Fresh visual ideas layered over timeless Western imagery have created new sensations in Western art, which proves that the genre can adapt and change, while also still embracing more traditional imagery at the same time. 

Medicine Man Gallery, The Bone Collector, acrylic on panel, 36 x 54”, by Kevin Chupik.

Consider the work of Doug West, who shows his work at Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His landscape paintings are far removed from the paintings of Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran or Edgar Payne, and yet they accomplish the same goal of capturing the beauty of the natural land. West does it with bold colors, brilliant light quality, subtle use of shadow and compositions that frequently call out to the vastness of the desert’s scale. West began his career as a model maker and then a printmaker. “Choosing landscape art allowed me to interpret an ever-changing world. I continue to find solace and peace outdoors while observing and absorbing what pleases my eye, and this is the moment in time I strive to recreate,” he writes. “Over the years the stylistic elements of my imagery have remained constant. I’ve retained the same graphic strengths of my earlier work and still seek to make sharply defined forms, transitions of color to capture light and creating the feeling of unlimited space and depth.”

 Legacy Gallery, Trail Break, bronze, ed. 1 of 10, 31 x 60 x 15”, by Rick Terry.

Kevin Chupik is another artist doing incredible work that offers a stylized perspective of Western subject matter. Chupik, who often shows new works at Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery in Tucson, Arizona, is sampling from all kinds of sources: post-modern architecture, classic Hollywood Westerns, 1960s automobiles and American car culture, old Marlboro Man advertisements and vintage cowboy imagery. He often juxtaposes these elements together to make statements about loneliness, isolation and the closing of the Old West. Sublette, who can’t get enough of Chupik’s work to satisfy his clients, says the artist has discovered something in his studio. “He’s hit a chord of originality,” Sublette adds. 

Top: Parsons Gallery of the West, Crisp Start to the Day, oil on linen panel, 16 x 20”, by Chloé Marie Burk; Legacy Gallery, Into the Wind, acrylic, 40 x 30”, by Phil Epp.  Bottom:Legacy Gallery, Twilight, oil, 28 x 22”, by Billy Schenck;  Maxwell Alexander Gallery, The Way Out, oil on panel, 18 x 24”, by David Grossmann.

Another one of the leaders within the genre is Maxwell Alexander Gallery in Pasadena, California. The gallery not only highlights contemporary Western art, it has many of the leading artists within its walls: Ed Mell, Kim Wiggins, Billy Schenck, Logan Maxwell Hagege, Brett Allen Johnson, Eric Bowman and many others. One of the gallery’s artists is David Grossmann, who pushes the envelope further than most contemporary Western painters. His works often feature paintings with limited palettes and minimal representation, but also abstraction, tonalism and even hints of color field and other modern art movements. In The Way Out, for instance, Grossmann paints thin whisps of paint against what is presumably a fading sunset. Are these trees against the waning light, or tall grass, or something else entirely? Grossmann’s paintings leave room for all kinds of interpretations. 

Chris Turri, Just Imagine, patina on reclaimed steel and copper, 41 x 8 x 7”; Chris Turri, Just Imagine, patina on reclaimed steel and copper, 41 x 8 x 7”; Teresa Lynn Johnson, Fire and Wind, oil on linen panel, 12 x 16”

Over at Legacy Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Santa Fe, are three leading contemporary artists: Billy Schenck, Phil Epp and Rick Terry. “Billy Schenck is a contemporary artist with work in over 40 museum collections and corporate collections. His subject matter spans genres from Western landscape to cowboy pop. He resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, his home for the past two decades,” the gallery notes. “In the evolution of [Phil Epp’s] art practice, his paintings have become widely known; his work is now available in galleries in Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico; Chicago; Kansas City, Missouri; and Tubac, Arizona; and in municipal settings with several recent large-scale, sculptural, collaborative public art projects. Rick Terry became interested in bronze sculpture while visiting galleries in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. While attending his second semester of art classes at Northern Arizona University, a job at a Sedona art foundry became possible. He took the job and became a foundry man which became his passion.”

 Rubine Red Gallery, Colors of the West (From the Wild West Series), 1967, watercolor, 22½ x 30”, by Malcolm Myers (1924-2002).

Gallery Wild has proven the resilience of contemporary art by flourishing with two popular destination galleries in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. One of the gallery’s owners, Carrie Wild, is also an artist herself. “American Western art, since its inception, has been synonymous with raw, unfiltered depictions of vast landscapes, rugged life and a sense of untamed freedom,” the gallery notes. “It’s a genre steeped in the ethos of the American frontier, often romanticizing the West’s wildness and the people who inhabited it. The contemporary artists at Gallery Wild are infusing this traditional canon with a burst of modern vibrancy and a new narrative perspective.” Other artists representing the genre well at the gallery include Aaron Hazel and Luke Anderson. The gallery adds: “Together, these artists at Gallery Wild are not just preserving the essence of American Western art but are also boldly redefining it, ensuring its evolution in the contemporary art world.”

Gallery Wild, Rendezvous in Color Thirty Six.0, acrylic and gold leaf on canvas, 48 x 48”, by Carrie Wild; Gallery Wild, Two Guns White Calf, oil on canvas, 40 x 30”, by Aaron Hazel. 

In recent years, Rubine Red Gallery in Palm Springs, California, has been shining a light on Malcolm Myers, a 20th-century painter whose modern works about the West are fascinating collectors. “In the heart of the low desert of California, near Joshua Tree, we see an interesting mix of desert landscapes—arguably ‘Western’ art—ultra-modern, Western-inspired art and everything in between. Collectors are looking for art that captures the spaciousness of the Western landscape, but also a sense of free spirit and vibrant color which the mountains here manifest…beyond the traditional earthen-toned, oil-on-canvas [look] of Western art,” the gallery writes. “We tell people to buy what they love, and that every genre—including Western art—has artists whose work feels contemporary and ‘modern.’ Malcolm Myers is one of those artists. His looser forms and happy colors give his animal and human subjects a glorious ride through the West. Inspired by his youth in Kansas [and] Texas and his later career sabbaticals, Myers’ Wild West Series from the late 1960s spans multiple forms—intaglio, watercolor and oil—all while inspiring collectors and their walls.”

Kim Randleas, Ode to the High Desert, oil on panel, 18 x 24”  17. Chris Turri, Just Imagine, patina on reclaimed steel and copper, 41 x 8 x 7”

For Kim Randleas, who paints evocative portraits and other Western scenes, creating art comes naturally. “It feels like I was born to create things. When I’m not making something, it feels like the wheels are falling off. The moment I dive into a creative endeavor again, everything is right with the world. As a kid, I was always making something, especially with sewing, drawing or painting,” she says. “I’ve woven these passions into my life—collecting antique clothing and painting the vibrant characters of the American West. What draws me to Western art is the ability to paint raw emotions. The people of the West carry a rugged, gritty essence that captivates me, and it’s what I love to capture in my paintings.” Randleas adds that collectors should “seek authenticity that echoes the essence of the era—capturing not just the visual, but the essence of the frontier. Dive into pieces that transport you to an era of courage, struggle and boundless horizons, embracing the legacy of the Old West.”

Rubine Red Gallery, Dancing Coyotes, 1962, intaglio and hand-colored in pastel and gouache, ed. of 24, by Malcolm Myers (1924-2002).

New Mexico-based painter Teresa Lynn Johnson uses subjects around her home and studio to help inspire her work. “Experimentation is always fun. For a more contemporary look, I love to take subjects I normally paint and push the color or style a bit. I still use the iconic Southwest colors but I just push the intensity a bit more for some paintings,” she says. “Fire and Wind was inspired by my love of horses and the freedom they represent to me. This horse represents my childhood horse, but to push the sense of freedom, I used a more stylized view of wind flowing through his mane. Desert Bloom was inspired by cactus blooms in the desert where I live. I love the brilliant yellow blooms against the cool green cactus pears. Your heart should be your guide to the artwork you select. You want to fall in love with the artwork, as the artist was in love with the subject of inspiration when they created the work.”

Top: Gallery Wild, Alpine Conifers, acrylic and oil on canvas, 14 x 18”, by Luke Anderson; Kim Randleas, Indian Country, oil on panel, 16 x 20”. Bottom: Teresa Lynn Johnson, Desert Bloom, oil on panel, 8 x 10”; Rubine Red Gallery, Wild West Scenes #87 (From the Wild West Series), 1966, oil on canvas, 32 x 38”, by Malcolm Myers (1924-2002). 

Sculptor Chris Turri draws his artistic inspiration from a deep connection to Native American culture and the captivating landscapes of New Mexico. “Raised amidst the wind-blown ripples of White Sands National Monument, I developed an affinity for the sculptural beauty of nature, finding artistic potential in the discarded remnants left behind. My creative process involves sourcing reclaimed materials, particularly old vehicle hoods and doors, seeking the perfect colors and patinas that guide my work,” Turri says. “My hands-on approach allows the metal’s inherent shapes and character to influence the emerging pieces, often entering a focused ‘zone’ during creation. Self-taught and mentored by a few influential figures, I delved into silversmithing, traditional art techniques and the construction trade, ultimately becoming a versatile artist who transforms discarded materials into captivating works of art.”  —