Painter Josh Gibson recently moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, from Tucson, Arizona. He’s a morning and evening painter, so to fight the afternoon lulls he leaves his studio and frequently hikes in the desert around Santa Fe. It’s here where he sees the limitless possibilities that the desert has to offer.
“Sometimes it feels like I’m making up these cloud forms and colors, but then I go for a hike and see a cloud that I just invented in the studio. And there it is in the sky,” he says. “There is an infinite amount of possibilities when it comes to the sky.”
Cloud Grazing, oil on canvas, 14 x 18 in.
Gibson’s remarkable clouds, as well as his modernist landscapes and figures, will be part of a major new solo show opening November 14 at Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery in Tucson. The title of the show is Lost in Red Sun Rays, which calls out to Gibson’s warm palette filled with fiery hues that evoke the dominance of the Western light.
“It’s something you see when you’re out there in it. During dawn and dusk, there is a power to the light that you don’t have during the rest of the day with those charged colors. I paint them to get an emotional reaction, which I try to translate into the paint. I want a powerful reaction from viewers,” he says, adding that he’s toeing the line between modernism and outright abstraction. “I’ll probably never shift fully into abstraction, but it is interesting to see how far I can push it in terms and of form and color. What I really want is the work to be very graphic with abstract elements, but then it can also be very realistic. Then I often slingshot back and forth between the two.”
Flatiron Shadow, oil on linen, 30 x 40 in. Private collection.
Gibson has had a spectacular year, with many major commissions completed (some examples seen here), including a number of large ones. The new show will have a mixture of sizes, but the highlights will be three monumental pieces, one being 84 inches wide. “Every year they get bigger and bigger,” Gibson says. “It’s a good way to push yourself to see what you can do.”
The artist notes that now is the exact right time to be a contemporary painter. The market is strong, galleries and museums are supportive of the work, and collectors are committed. “Obviously there was a huge renaissance back during 1980s with Elaine Horwitch, but things are moving very positive now. Now might be the best time for contemporary art in the region,” he says. “There’s a real shift as people turn to contemporary Western art.”
Gibson’s show will open November 14 with an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. The artist will be in attendance. The whole show runs through December 5. —
The Distant Dream, oil on linen, 36 x 72 in. Private collection.
Medicine Man Gallery 6872 E. Sunrise Drive, Suite 130 » Tucson, AZ 85750 » (520) 722-7798 » www.medicinemangallery.com
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