Inspired by Andy Warhol’s Cowboys and Indian series is a stellar exhibition combining Western themes and a “Pop attitude,” brought to fruition by the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s Whitney Western Art Museum. POP! Goes the Westincludes 53 artworks, highlighting art made during the past 60 years, along with a display of commercial Western objects that highlight the West’s link to popular culture.
Billy Schenck, A Flight from Destiny, 1994, oil on canvas, 47 3/8 x 62 3/8 in. Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming. Gift of The Alexander Bodini Foundation, in memory of Alexander Bodini. 1.95.
Patrons can expect to find sculptures, paintings, serigraphs and lithograph prints, and mixed media works. Nineteen pieces belong to the collection of the Center of the West and the remainder were loaned from museums, galleries and individual artists. Of the 31 artists represented, all but four are living. Native American artists are also well-represented.“After viewing the 10 screen prints [of Warhol’s series] in a collector’s home, co-curator Dr. Ashlea Espinal and I began thinking about other works in our collection…,” says Susan F. Barnett, the Margaret and Dick Scarlett curator of Western American Art at the Whitney. “Warhol used iconic images of the West in his ongoing exploration of popular culture and celebrity. We realized there is a long conversation between Western imagery and popular culture…”
Maeve Eichelberger, Simply Charmin’, 2025, hand formed and etched acrylic. Loan courtesy of the artist.
Barnett also succinctly notes that, “The West did not end with the open range in the 1880s, nor with the boom-and-bust cycles of Western commodities ranging from copper to real estate. Today’s artists depict the West of their imagination and experience, while finding new ways to engage with its timeless themes.”
Among the many strong and exciting examples on display, is the acrylic horse saddle Simply Charmin’by Maeve Eichelberger. “[This piece] is an ode to my youth in the ’80s and ’90s—brightly colored cereal, clothes, notebooks and pens,” the artist shares. “I created this piece specifically to reference popular culture from my experiences. I remember coming home from school, crushing a bowl of Lucky Charms while I did homework, then out to the barn to do chores. All of these elements created my childhood, and I try to capture bits and pieces in all my creations. I am also thrilled using the fluorescent colors in plexiglass—the light quality and energy resonates with me.”
Willem Volkersz, Dreaming the West, 2019, mixed media, 81½ x 102½ in. Loan from artist.
To Eichelberger, the “contemporary West” means the present interpretations of Western lifestyle, culture and environment. “In his time, C.M. Russell was considered contemporary, based on style and subject,” Eichelberger adds. “My evolution of work is rooted in collage, combining images, textures and colors to create new environments. David Hockney and Robert Rauschenberg were largely influential in my practice. I think my choice of material (plexiglass), the techniques of image transfer onto acrylic and bending, marks my style as contemporary with some Western theme focal points.”
Thom Ross, Hickok and Cody, 1998, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 in. Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. W.D. Weiss. 12.98.2.
A highlight in the exhibition is Gordon McConnell’s painting Kid Grid, featuring tightly cropped grid scenes, inspired by the artist’s love for movies and comics. McConnell explains, “In this series, I distill the already compressed pictorial narrative into a set of violent pulses. I built a mosaic of struggle and conflict, bullying and intimidation, glares and grimaces, pistols poppin’ and fists flying, the good contending with the bad and ugly.”
The artist continues, “As I made these paintings, I reflected on how comic books were created for children of my generation by adults amusing themselves with their reductive versions of scenarios played out ad infinitum in pulp magazines, pocket paperbacks, TV shows and movies. Were these things suitable for the kids of my generation? Probably not. For me personally, the imprint of multimedia Western art and the myth of the Old West has framed my entire life and fed my artistic imagination.”
Gordon McConnell, Kid Grid, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 75 x 75 in. Loan from artist.
To experience more incredibly unique artworks, visit Wyoming’s Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s Whitney Western Art Museum through January 25, 2026. —
POP! Goes the West
Through January 25, 2026
Buffalo Bill Center of the West – Whitney Western Art Museum
720 Sheridan Avenue, Cody, WY
(307) 587-4771
www.centerofthewest.org
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