Painter Ben Steele partners with Altamira Fine Art for his upcoming solo show Wanted: In the New West, featuring around 15 new pieces. The show explores the “visual language of mid-century Americana, roadside motels, vintage packaging and the iconography of the cowboy,” says gallery owner Jason Williams, who believes that Steele represents a defining voice within the Western Pop movement.
The Best of the West Inn, oil on canvas, 40 x 50 in.
“Wanted: In the New West is going after those traditions of Western art: the cowboy, films, sprawling landscapes and Western art heroes,” Steele shares. “But, in my work, I always want to have some fun with those mainstays that can become tropes if not explored at a deeper level. I hope that my art is able to tell more of a layered, engaging story. I always shoot for it to be about several things at once and find balance between reverence and satire.”
Cowpoke Crayon Pencils, oil on canvas, 50 x 40 in.
For Steele, a new body of work has to be led by concept and variation. Style and technique are almost already baked in from his formative years. “I was trained under a system that prioritized technique and art understanding from day one,” he says. “But I think there is such an incredible amount of skilled painters out there, that my interest leans more into how I can offer something different to the art conversation. At this point in my career, the emphasis is, ‘what am I trying to say with each piece? How can I add something to the Western art dialogue that hasn’t been said before, even if it’s just a small nugget?’”
We see Steele having a bit of fun in show piece Triple Feature,featuring three bottles, executed in great detail, with the bottle labels as the main focus. “[This piece] was an engaging exercise to me,” the artist recalls. “I got to play advertising designer for a minute and decide how these old, vintage Westerns might market themselves on a liquor product. It’s like two different kinds of indulgences coming together, plus I think conveying glass is pretty joyful. There is so much light and shape to describe.”
Triple Feature, oil on canvas, 40 x 60 in.
The show is set for display at Altamira Fine Art in Jackson, Wyoming, from June 16 to 30. Visitors can expect paintings that bring together nostalgia, design and painterly precision that Williams says "feels both deeply familiar and entirely reimagined." —
Altamira Fine Art 172 Center Street • Jackson, WY 83001 • (307) 739-4700 • www.altamiraart.com
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