Mark Gibson
New horizons
Mountain Trails Gallery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, hosts an exhibition for Mark Gibson running August 7 through 15. The show will feature some new experimentation in Gibson’s artwork, as well as his signature luminescent teepee paintings.
“I started a bison series to get a bit more contemporary. It’ll have images [of bison that] fill the canvas up pretty well, and the backgrounds are a glazed off-white. Almost portrait stuff. It gives a different perspective from what I’ve usually done, and they are really fun to do,” says Gibson. His bison series consists of all large paintings, 36 by 36 inches or larger.
One of Gibson teepee paintings, the “old standbys” as he dubs them, is Fly By. The teepee in the center of the composition pulls the eye toward it with magnetic force, a glowing red and orange triangular form set against a sky filled with storm clouds. “That one has a magpie in it and when [my wife’s] dad passed away, there was a magpie just sitting on the windowsill for a couple days off and on. So I put that in there as kind of a token to her father.”
Gibson says he is also planning to start exploring more long, horizontal pieces focused on the landscape, with the teepees as part of the backdrop rather than the focal points.
“Mark has been creating varied Western landscapes and singular subjects, including teepees, for over 25 years. This experience shows in the way he expresses the warm glow, life and mystery within. Shallowing the depth of field adds an almost antique feel to pieces that are at home in both contemporary and traditional settings,” says Mountain Trails Gallery director Chad Repinski.
An opening reception for Gibson’s show will be held Saturday, August 8, from 4 to 6 p.m.
For a direct link to the exhibiting gallery go to www.westernartcollector.com