Background image (cropped): Antonio Savarese, Back of Beyond, Oil on Canvas, 24 x 24”
On Display at Vaughn Art Agency + Gallery
April 1 – 30, 2023
2307 Thornton Road, Austin, TX 78704
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 1, 4-8 pm
Artist Panel: Sunday, April 2, 2pm
Western Gallery presents over 100 works from more than 30 artists from across the United States for Austin viewers to contemplate, critique and enjoy.
Whitney Gardner. Naturalized Westerner, Oil on Linen, 10 x 8″
After the Gold Rush brings together over 100 works from more than 30 artists living and working across the United States for viewers to contemplate, critique and enjoy. The exhibition invites viewers to consider the history and mythos of the American West following its Euro-American “settling” all the way to the Pacific within the context of Neil Young’s breakout solo album, with lyrical subjects ranging from medieval knights to spaceships. Ultimately, the album is about loving one another and caring for our Earth.
The artworks Western Gallery presents are very much in alignment with these ideas and context. Whether a landscape painting or a LED-lit plexiglass sculpture of a saddle, the inspiration at the heart of these works begin and end with an appreciation for the West, its lifestyles and the land itself.
Sarah Winkler. When The Sun Burst Through The Sky, Acrylic on Wood, 26 x 32″
Especially for rural Western Americans, the importance of conservation pervades the entire lifestyle and can’t be understated.
Though the California gold rush may have primarily been a brute pillaging of natural resources that funded Anglo development, the awareness of the West and its vast resources—both above and below ground—has never been greater. Coupled with renewed interest in space exploration and a backdrop of ever-growing environmental concerns, the themes of After the Gold Rush continue to resonate both in popular music and in fine art.
Sirena LaBurn. Pretty Fate, Oil on Linen, 25 x 39″
On Display at Vaughn Art Agency + Gallery
April 1 – 30, 2023
2307 Thornton Road, Austin, TX 78704