Opening this fall at JoAnne Artman Gallery in Laguna Beach, California, is a new three-artist show titled Technicolor West.Each of the artists—Billy Schenck, Chris Watts and Greg Miller—pulls on a modern thread within the fabric of contemporary Western art.
Billy Schenck, Gratuitous Violence, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 in.
“Reimagining the mythology of the West through a vivid, contemporary lens, the exhibition brings together three distinct voices united by a shared fascination with cinematic narrative, bold color and the enduring iconography of cowboy culture,” the gallery writes in a release. “Drawing on the visual language of classic Western films, advertising and pop culture, Technicolor West transforms familiar archetypes, gunslingers, heroines and outlaws into striking, graphic compositions. Saturated hues and heightened contrasts replace dusty realism, offering a vision of the West that feels both nostalgic and newly imagined. Here, the frontier is not merely remembered, but represented with a deliberate sense of allure.”
Chris Watts, Calamity Jane (Yellow), acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 in.
Among the new works in the exhibition is one of Schenck’s famous caption paintings, Gratuitous Violence, which shows off the artist’s satirical wit as he explores common themes within the culture of the Old West. The painting features two fighting figures on a single horse. One of the men says, via comic speech bubble, “I just don’t want to be involved in gratuitous violence, Cliff!!” Schenck has used Cliff in a number of these popular paintings that often skewer popular Western subjects. —
JoAnne Artman Gallery 346 N. Coast Highway » Laguna Beach, CA 92651 » (949) 510-5481 » www.joanneartmangallery.com
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