Western Classics

LOCATION: Visions West Contemporary - 2605 Walnut St

CATEGORY: Art Events

PAST DATE AND TIME:

• Fri, Apr 28, 2023 - Sat, Jun 10, 2023  

Visions West Contemporary is pleased to announce Tracy Stuckey's exhibition, Western Classics, on view from April 28th–June 10th, 2023. An opening celebration will be held on Friday, April 28th, 6–8pm.

With a tongue in cheek look at the complex nature of the American West, Stuckey reflects on the primal attraction of the West and its role in everything from fashion to music to advertising to film. offering an updated twist to the cowboy genre, Stuckey references historical masterworks like David's Napoleon Crossing The Alps and Ingres' Grande Odalisque, tethering his work to a broader art historic tradition. Stuckey is recognized for tackling the cliches of the west with a fresh, insightful, and often humorous voice. He gives the viewer a western swerve that strikes a moment of realization that western imagery is still how Americans want to be seen.

The enduring fascination with cowboy lore is a constant undercurrent in pop culture and style - from Lil Nas X to Tom Ford's rhinestone cowboy fall runway, the imagery of the cowboy continuously evolves and permeates our culture. While Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift use the trope of cowboy to talk about power and freedom, Stuckey offers a satirical take, poking fun at the empty romanticism of Western ideals. The popularity of Western themes and the ease with which they are recontextualized, proves the relevance of the Western Milieu and its ability to explore American cultural questions and identities.

While studying renaissance masterworks in Florence and Venice this past summer, Stuckey considered the characteristics of a 'museum painting.' He navigated through works that stood out in his memory and used these paintings as reference material for this new body of work. "Grande Odalisque by Ingres reminded me of Wrangler ads from the 70's where models showed off their back pocket Wrangler leather tags in a similar fashion to the model in Ingre's painting," Stuckey explains of his layered influences and vision for the show. Historical visual influences are clear in many of the works created for the exhibition. Using references to Delacroix, David, Ingres and other neoclassical and Romantic era painters, Stuckey delights and surprises us yet again.

(Image: The Grand Wrangler, 2023, oil on canvas, 33 x 66 inches)