From Los Alamos to Goldwater’s Arizona and onto the Last Frontier, this month’s installment of exhibitions cuts a trail across the Western art world.
Through May 31
Atoms & Art: The Intersecting Lives of Maria Poveka Martinez and Bernice Bidwell Brode
In the last years of World War II, a Native artist and the wife of a Manhattan Project physicist formed an unusual friendship in the secret community of the birthplace of the atomic bomb, Los Alamos, New Mexico. This exhibition brings to life the relationship between Maria Martinez, whose black-on-black pottery made her the best-known of all Pueblo potters, and author Bernice Brode. It includes historical photos, the pottery collection, and Brode’s stories. Los Alamos History Museum, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 505.662.6272, losalamoshistory.org
Through March 27, 2020
Photographs by Barry M. Goldwater: The Arizona Highways Collection
Five-term U.S. senator and proud Arizonan Barry Goldwater was a gifted photographer whose work often appeared in the pages of Arizona Highways magazine. This exhibition features the largest collection of his work ever exhibited, including never-before-shown photography, intimate family photos, and personal items such as the senator’s camera, cowboy hat, and boots. Western Spirit: Scottdale’s Museum of the West, Scottsdale, Arizona, 480.686.9539, scottsdalemuseumwest.org
Click on the image above to view the slideshow of images from Photographs by Barry M. Goldwater: The Arizona Highways Collection.
May 2 – 31
Jon Flaming: Modern Cowboy
Texas-based artist Jon Flaming grew up watching TV westerns and now portrays that world on big, bold, colorful canvases. Conveying those narratives in a simpler but sophisticated way, his latest series pays homage to the great Western artists of the past, but breaks with the accepted tradition of Western art. A new exhibition of roughly 25 of his paintings explores both the cowboy and the country. The show opens at on Thursday, May 2, with an artist reception from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. that includes wine and and hors d’oeuvres. David Dike Fine Art, Dallas, 214.720.4044, daviddikefineart.com
Read Jon Flaming’s artist statement about his Modern Cowboy series here.
May 24–26
Texas Masters of Fine Art and Craft Invitational Exhibition
Now in its 16th year, this artist-produced and -managed show includes such premier artists from across the state of Texas as custom jewelers Daniel and Linda Baker of Dallas, San Antonio weaver Sue Corbett, metalwork artist Gary Thompson of Dripping Springs, and Southwest painter and sculptor Manuel S. Franco of Dumas. Y.O. Ranch Resort Hotel, Kerrville, Texas, 469.223.4162, texasmasters.com
June 16
Design Alaska Wild Arts Walk
Spend Father’s Day afternoon immersed in nature and art as about 30 artists showcase their nature-inspired artwork along the trails of the dog-friendly 2,200-acre migratory fowl refuge. An auction of works created during a plein-air session benefits the refuge. Creamer’s Field Migratory Wildlife Refuge, Fairbanks, Alaska, 907.452.5162, designalaska.com
Photography: (featured) Barry M. Goldwater, Totem Pole, 1967; (slideshow) Barry M. Goldwater, Totem Pole, 1967; Barry M. Goldwater, Navajo Pony, 1938; Barry M. Goldwater, The Navajo, 1938; Portrait of the Artist as a Married Man, Taken at Coal Mine Canyon between Tuba City and Third Mesa, ca. 1935. Photo by Peggy Goldwater; Barry M. Goldwater, Hay Stack; Barry M. Goldwater, Desert Corsage, 1936; Barry M. Goldwater, Native American Child, 1956; Barry M. Goldwater, Westward Ho, 1938; All images from Photographs by Barry M. Goldwater: The Arizona Highways Collection/Courtesy of the Barry & Peggy Goldwater Foundation.
