At 35, George G. Redden is riding the wave of a rapidly accelerating career as a professional artist. The son of Western artist Grant Redden, George began studying under his father, and mentors Albin Veselka, Josh Clare and Michael Malm, in earnest in 2018.
Desert Predator, oil, 16 x 12 in.
“When I first started, my dad tried to be very clear about challenges of the art business,” recalls Redden. “When I showed determination, he said ‘OK, but I want you to draw and paint only in black and white for a year.’” This practice was to instill a foundational understanding of the importance of value, or the interplay of lightness and darkness. “Color gets all the credit but values do all the work,” says Redden. “While color is exciting and essential, it can’t stand on its own. A painting has to have good design and good values.”
Ambush, oil, 30 x 24 in.
This rigorous practice, combined with intensive study of the Old Masters and the human figure, and a penchant for works from the Golden Age of Illustration has paid off, coming together to form a distinct style that combines graphic and expressive elements to varying degrees.
One of Redden’s signatures is outlining central subjects in his work, sometimes leaving the line thick and bold, other times making it more subtle, a style he appreciated in a painting of a Native American by J.C. Leyendecker.
Redden says, “I liked the contrast between the outline, a very graphic element that has an almost flattening effect, next to the highly modeled form and really defined musculature...I’m really drawn to shape as an element in artwork and how emotion and story can be told through the figure. When I outline the figure it locks in that shape and accentuates it in a way I find really satisfying. I think that’s what I love about shape—its ability to convey through gesture.”
Jump Shot, oil, 24 x 20 in.
In the nocturne Desert Predator, an owl rendered with minimal detail is perched in the branches of a gnarled juniper pine, while the sculpted musculature of a Native American man flexes with the pressure of his arms against his legs, his skin accented with moonlight. Another powerful piece is Late for the Hunt, the contours of the mountain lion and deer leaping through a fiery aspen stand reinforced by bold outlining, while a crouched figure holding a shotgun watches from the shadows.
Late for the Hunt, oil, 24 x 32 in.
“It’s not as if he’s about to interrupt with that rifle,” says Redden. “I imagine he feels lucky to be there to see it.”
For Redden, the Native Americans in his painting are a metaphor for how he feels when he is out in nature, an intrinsic part of his life growing up in southwest Wyoming. “I personally feel a deep connection to the natural world,” he says. “I admire the connection that the Native Americans had and still have with the natural world. They were excellent at tracking and hunting, and really in tune with the subtle changes in the natural world, partially for religious reasons, but also because if you weren’t, you wouldn’t survive. I have great admiration for the ability of certain people to navigate that world, being in tune with it, and the peace that comes with it.”
Redden’s second solo show at Maxwell Alexander Gallery runs February 2 through 22. —
Maxwell Alexander Gallery 1300 N. Lake Avenue » Pasadena, CA 91104 » (213) 275-1060 » www.maxwellalexandergallery.com
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