During a recent trip through the Southwest, California painter Glenn Dean laid eyes on the Navajo Nation, Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley and other iconic locations in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. It was not the first time he had visited these destinations, but each visit—whether first or 10th—inspires him in different ways.
Silence and Solitude, oil, 36 x 48 in.For this most recent trip, Dean was drawn to the word “passages.” The word held a dual meaning. “I was thinking about the figures and the landscapes, and how the figures are physically traveling through locations and how they are connected to the land in this very specific way,” he says. “But I was also thinking of my own journey—my own passage—and all the different things I have gone through. The word spoke to the spiritual passages we make as we cross through these landscapes. The word encompassed a lot for me.”
Passages is the name of Dean’s new show, which opens October 10 at Maxwell Alexander Gallery in Pasadena, California. The solo show will feature more than a dozen new works, including several large pieces, such as Silence and Solitude,a 36-by-48-inch work showing one of the iconic stone monoliths in Monument Valley.
Sons of the Valley, oil, 40 x 40 in.During his trip through Canyon de Chelly, the artist used a Native American guide, which is required to have access down into the canyon. The Navajo (Diné) people have a long history with the canyon, which they refer to as Tséyi’. The Diné occupy the area now, but it was also the earlier home of the Hopi people and Ancestral Puebloans. The steep cliff faces and rock spires have seen wars and bloodshed—passages of history carved into the stones and soaked into the soil.
More recent passages have included artists such as photographer Edward S. Curtis and painters Edgar Payne and Gerard Curtis Delano. For Dean, cultural history and artistic history meet at a fascinating point. “You experience so many different things at once when you’re there, including all the history. It’s a majestic place,” he says. “One of the more interesting things about the canyon is how it’s changed. More than 150 years ago, there were hardly any trees in the canyon. The big walls would directly meet the sandy wash. But now there are these invasive Russian olive trees that hide the base of the cliffs. As an artist I find myself inventing that space to remove the olive trees. There are still some areas with no trees toward the back of the canyon.”
Convergence, oil, 36 x 36 in.
Following the Arroyo, oil, 24 x 24 in.
Although Passages does contain some larger and more iconic subjects within the paintings, Dean frequently paints more intimate moments between the figure and landscape. Moments that meditate on form, composition, shadow and the quiet reverence of nature’s grandeur. “I may draw inspiration from these great places, but I don’t always gravitate to the postcard view. I like the locations because they offer a variety of things—big shapes, big formations, big clouds in the sky—that you can use to put together dynamic compositions. They offer the variety that I like to see. The variety that generates the ideas.”
Rooted, oil, 30 x 20 in.
Drapes of Stone, oil, 25 x 25 in.
Some of these more reflective works include Rooted, showing a Native American man using a long stick as he walks through a desert setting, and Convergence, which shows a pair of riders aligning with a distant mountain range and a rising moon. For Dean, the land and figures are key players, but the star is their symbiotic presence within the painting—the desert reveals its size, intensity and magnificence, and the people humanize the setting.
“These are the places that define the Great Southwest. When you’re in them, you feel how unique they are, how powerful they are. As an artist it is quite a privilege to paint these places and feel their inspiration,” the artist says. “I’m always trying to explore and learn when I’m out there. And it’s more than what you see. You can smell it. You can feel it against your skin. You can hear it. These are powerful and authentic locations.”
Riders of Monument Valley, oil, 25 x 25 in.
Dean is not only experiencing these settings, he’s also painting within them. Rarely does he travel without an easel and his paints. Like many artists, he says he’s always learning, always trying to perfect his painting. That part of his art will never end. And even after repeated trips, the locations are never the same. “Even just four months apart, it’s crazy to see how different the light, shapes and shadows are. That all goes back to why I started painting the landscape,” he adds. “There’s just no end to it at all. It’s different every single day. Each time is a new experience. And then you add clouds into the mix. The combinations are limitless.” —
Maxwell Alexander Gallery 1300 N. Lake Avenue » Pasadena, CA 91104 » (213) 275-1060 » www.maxwellalexandergallery.com
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