Peacemakers
California painter Danny Galieote debuts new cowgirl pieces in a show at Maxwell Alexander Gallery.
Danny Galieote has always had an interest in the West, be it the Old West or a contemporary version of
Old West archetypes. One of his favorite subjects is cowgirls. And not meek and fragile female figures either. His women can hold their own. Several are downright dangerous.
His newest paintings will be offered at a show opening October 5 at Maxwell Alexander Gallery in Los Angeles. Included in the grouping of eight paintings will be Cowgirl Moon, showing a female figure in a revealing get-up with double holsters in a desert landscape; The Sharpshooter, a 16-inch round piece showing a more modestly dressed figure wielding two pistols; and Peacemaker, one of his famous paintings of women shown from behind as they hold dangerous weapons behind their backs.
Galieote’s subjects are rendered in a unique style that he calls pop-american regionalism. “Everything I’m painting is in a very Americana sort of realm… workmen, cowgirls, beachgoers,” he says. “It all speaks to my interest in American history and how it relates to our culture.”
He continues: “I think about my figures like sculptures; from three dimensions even though I’m painting them in two. I want you to feel like you can walk around them and see them from the other side,” the artist says. “A lot of my inspiration comes from the WPA artists that I love, artists such as John Steuart Curry and Paul Cadmus. In the 1930 and 1940s artists were designing work from a distance, so they could look good on a wall or mural, so the viewer could appreciate it from a lower angle looking up. I’m just taking that aesthetic and applying it to a modern society.”
While working on the Maxwell Alexander show, Galieote found himself at the center of an exciting commission that came from actress Blake Lively, who asked the artist to create a work for her husband, Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds. The painting features a younger version of Reynolds as he delivers newspapers. “My first job was delivering newspapers for the Vancouver Sun. The house in the painting is my childhood home. My brothers and I spent years trying to kill each other on that lawn,” Reynolds wrote in an Instagram post about the gift from his wife. “There are a lot of Easter eggs in the painting, including my idol, John Candy, on the front page of the newspaper. The house no longer stands but it’s a living, breathing thing in my head. This piece of art is the greatest present my wife has ever given me. It was created by [Danny Galieote]. If there’s ever a fire, I’m grabbing this first. I’ll come back for Blake.”
The show runs continues through October 26. For more information visit maxwellalexandergallery.com.