Last year, Manitou Galleries paired Kenneth Peloke and James Randle together for Unbound Visions. This September, the two artists will be reunited for Unbound Visions II, which moves the exhibition to Legacy Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
After doing five shows in 2025, Peloke has used 2026 as an opportunity to step back and recharge. “I canceled my regular schedule for the year. I just wanted to be able to mess around and try new things,” he explains. “But when Legacy asked if I wanted to do the show this fall, it seemed like a good time to get back to it.”
James Randle, Clean Rooms, oil, 48 x 36 in.
Peloke paints both abstracts and realism, but his work for the Legacy show will gravitate more toward realist works. “Realism pieces are definitely more involved, both in terms of the time it takes and the emotional demands,” he says. This is in part because he’s quite picky about his realist subject matter. He’s always looking for new compositions and trying to do things a little differently, which adds to the challenge.
He frequently gravitates to horses as a subject. “They have freedom when they’re running, as if they’re chasing something,” he says. “It makes me think about what I’m chasing. There’s so much emotion in the movement.”
James Randle, American Owned, oil, 48 x 36 in.
In Free as the Breeze, viewers see a horse in profile, the wind whipping around its mane. “This is the epitome of how I feel, or at least how I want to feel,” Peloke says. “Kind of docile, but it’s because the openness of the field gives you the freedom to really feel the breeze.”
For his showing, Randle returns to beloved territory: the neon signs of the Southwest. He has amassed a vast library of photographs from his travels through the region that serve as the inspiration for the exhibition. “I’m approaching the idea of Route 66 from a more modern aesthetic instead of over-romanticizing it,” he says. He’s painting things in their current state: abandoned motels, out-of-service gas stations and signs that no longer light up properly, rather than imagining what they might have looked like in their glory days.
Kenneth Peloke, Desperado, oil, 48 x 36 in.
In American Owned, Randle paints a sign advertising the Sands Motel, which has since been torn down. “It’s painted the same sign probably ten years ago with a different angle, and it has a totally different feel,” he says. Randle often revisits his subject matter, using it as an opportunity to play with the mood or the time of day. In this version, the motel sign is more decayed than in the first painting, paying homage to the passage of time.
In addition to neon signs, Randle will also show works that feature Airstream trailers. “I’m really drawn to old trailers that haven’t had any work done on them. Maybe there’s a dent or a flat tire, or it’s lost its shine,” he says. “They’re just so much fun.”
Unbound Visions II opens with a reception on September 11 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Legacy Gallery’s Santa Fe location and will remain on view through September 20. —
Kenneth Peloke, Free as the Breeze, oil, 24 x 32 in.
Legacy Gallery 225 Canyon Road » Santa Fe, NM 87501 » (505) 986-9833 » www.legacygallery.com
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