Staff Reports | Business & Commerce
Western artist Gary Ernest Smith will debut a new exhibition, Land Labor Light: New Paintings by Gary Ernest Smith, at Bonner David Galleries Scottsdale on Thursday, Oct. 8. An artist reception is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8.
The exhibition features new landscape and figurative works inspired by the artist’s travels through the American West and his longtime connection to the region, according to a press release.
For Mr. Smith, inspiration for the exhibition came during a drive from Utah to Scottsdale for a previous show.
“Last year, I had my show in Scottsdale at Bonner David Galleries and we drove down from Utah,” Mr. Smith said. “Along the way, we went to Lake Powell and then drove through the small town of Price, Utah, which is Red Rock Country. I was so impressed, it was twilight when we drove through so I just stopped and had to start sketching.”
The scenes that captured Smith’s attention included red rock formations, moonlit mesas and the changing colors of the desert sky at dusk.
“I love what I saw but what also struck me was just the quietude of the desert, the solitude of these places,” Mr. Smith said. “When I saw that low light and it all became so quiet, so beautiful. I just needed to capture those big shapes. It was right along the border, so I also painted the first cactus we came across.”
Part of the exhibition includes a series of smaller paintings inspired by that trip. The collection also revisits a theme that has been central to Smith’s work for much of his career: the people who worked and cultivated the land throughout the West.
“I grew up on a farm in Eastern Oregon,” Mr. Smith said. “And the first paintings I did were of cattle ranchers and I have been looking at those old photos recently. To me, the first generation was cowboys and they tamed the West. The next generation was farmers and they cultivated the West. My work is meant to commemorate those involved with this generation.”
The figurative works draw from photographs and memories from Smith’s early life and artistic career.
“I grew up with these people,” Mr. Smith said. “And it’s nice to see those paintings take on a life of their own. The figures have hats on and they are shielding their faces from the sun. When I was painting these earlier in my career, I put some away and now I have decided to give them to Bonner David for this show.”
Bonner David Galleries Scottsdale is at 7040 E. Main St. in Scottsdale.
