Geoffrey Gersten’s fascination with 1950s Americana is in full swing with his upcoming solo show at Altamira Fine Art. In his latest body of work, the oil painter presents still lifes of objects like old Mickey and Minnie Mouse bottle caps, Pony Express and Boss Lady matchbooks, Big Boy memorabilia and more. His art holds a magnifying glass to the little things that define mid-century American culture.
Boss Lady, oil on linen, 36 x 36"
“For me, everything about the Americana setting is so magical. The funny carpet, the hilariously colored kitchen appliances, it’s all so fascinating,” says Gersten. When beginning a new body of work, the artist tries to imagine himself truly living in these time periods, taking in what it might have felt like.
The Old West, oil on canvas, 40 x 60"
“I’ve been having so much fun collecting these little matchbooks and opening them, like discovering little, untouched packets of memories from my favorite time period. I idealize the 1950s neighborhoods—the houses, people, cars, grocery items, advertising,” he continues. “Surely it couldn’t have been so perfect as it is imagined or sometimes described, but it was human and it was beautiful. There is an allure and mystique that accompanies these matchbooks, knowing that they once sat on the tiled kitchen counter in a 1950s home, or they rode along in someone’s pocket as they drove a ’57 Bel Air and ended up in a desk drawer.”
Disney Duo, oil on canvas, 40 x 60"
While the recognizable brands are exciting, Gersten says that often he’s even more captivated by the intricate but “oh so cute” printed art from a small, local diner or hotel that hardly anyone remembers. “But here they are again, telling their tiny story of life from another time, in some ways much like our own times, while also being the story from another universe entirely, lived by someone else like a movie character only imagined but too complex to emulate,” he says.
Strawberry Soda, oil on canvas, 40 x 40"
“What makes Geoffrey’s work so impactful is the way he transforms the ordinary into the iconic,” says Jason Williams, owner of Altamira Fine Art. “Each painting captures not just the physical likeness of these objects, but the emotional weight they carry—a faded memory, a bygone era, a shared sense of history. Through this collection, Geoffrey pays tribute to the beauty found in the everyday, offering a poignant meditation on how objects become vessels of collective memory.”
Stop at the Sign of the Big Boy, oil on linen, 48 x 48"
Geoffrey Gersten Plays With Matches hangs at Altamira Fine Art’s Jackson, Wyoming, location from June 3 to 17. An opening reception will be held Thursday, June 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. —
Altamira Fine Art 172 Center Street • Jackson, WY 83001 • (307) 739-4700 • www.altamiraart.com
Powered by Froala Editor
