Maxwell Alexander Gallery, featuring some of the most prominent contemporary Western working today, is opening its doors to the public once again after making a location change from Los Angeles to Pasadena, California. In celebration of the reopening, and to show off the walls of the new historic building the art destination now occupies, the gallery is hosting quite the show of original, fresh Western works.
Phyllis Shafer, View to Mt. Tom, oil, 22 x 32 in.
Featured at the Maxwell Alexander Gallery’s Grand Reopening, collectors and enthusiasts alike will find artworks by Eric Bowman, Josh Elliott, Phil Epp, Brett Allen Johnson, John Moyers, George G. Redden, Xiang Zhang, Phyllis Shafer and many more.
“I have been associated with the Maxwell Alexander Gallery for almost three years,” says Shafer. “My association with [the gallery] has opened me up to a new and larger audience, and provided me with new artistic opportunities for which I am immensely grateful. The gallery owners are very ambitious and have lots of connections that have brought my work into a whole new arena of the art world. I look forward to more career opportunities with Maxwell Alexander Gallery.”
Josh Elliott, At a Distance, Navajo Nation, oil, 15 x 30 in.
Shafer presents beauties like View to Mt. Tom for the show, illustrating her core inspiration, which is what she sees and feels in the natural environment. “Living in the Sierra Nevada Mountains spurred me to delve into plein air painting and to combine it with my own interests in fantasy and expression…,” Shafer explains. “Mt. Tom is an iconic peak that sits a little ahead of the chain of mountains that make up the east side of the Sierra. What initially interested me in this scene was the blood-red cheatgrass. Cheatgrass is, however, an invasive species much maligned by local ranchers and environmentalists. But to the painter’s eye, that deep, rust-red color makes for a powerful impact in a painting. That, combined with the sage and bitterbrush, made for an interesting foreground, offset by the sweeping vista to the mountains. The prevailing winds come from the west, which inspired the fantasy-like swirl of clouds.”
Phil Epp, Prairie Flight, acrylic on board 30 x 40 in.
As far as a theme for the piece, Shafer shares that it is about the movement and the interconnectedness of all things in nature. “I amplify that through distortion and exaggeration, hoping for a painting full of movement and rhythm,” she adds. “A favorite quote of John Muir’s comes to mind: ‘When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.’”
Known for his realistic depictions of historic Western events, Zhang will be presenting his unique cattle drive painting Chisholm Trail 1868.“Chisholm Trail is the most famous one among the eight cattle drive trails in Texas in 1868,” explains the artist. “Texas provided 25 percent of beef to the nation. After the Civil War, Texas cowboys rounded up the longhorn cattle in the brush country and drove them to Abilene, Kansas, through the Indian Territory and distributed the beef to the West and East.”
Xiang Zhang, Chisholm Trail 1868, oil on linen, 36 x 25 in.
He continues, “I created this painting with a birds eye view for the composition, instead of a traditional cattle-drive painting. It is an old Western subject but conveyed with a contemporary approach. The background is the ground, which was simplified and combined with shadows, making the longhorns and cowboys stronger in color and movement.”
Phil Epp, who lives on the prairie in central Kansas, depicts the grasslands he knows so well in his piece Prairie Flight,while incorporating his ever-popular large sky. Epp explains of the piece, that the grasslands are burnt in the springtime to limit “brushy invaders” and stimulate grass growth. “This scene illustrates a magical time when moonlight, smoke, horses and flight create a dramatic, timeless moment,” he says.
John Moyers, As Seasons Blend Together, oil, 18 x 24 in.
Don’t miss the opportunity to be a part of Maxwell Alexander Gallery’s grand reveal, including the many impressive pieces of work to grace the walls. A reception and show opening will be held on November 1, with the public viewing available from November 2 to 3. Please visit the gallery website for updated information. —
Maxwell Alexander Gallery 1300 N. Lave Avenue » Pasadena, CA 91104 » (213) 275-1060 » www.maxwellalexandergallery.com
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