Indians & Cowboys: Redefined by Duke & Woodard
Duke Beardsley and Greg Woodard present contemporary paintings and bronzes at the Booth Museum in Georgia.
Cartersville, GA
Now open at the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, is Indians & Cowboys: Redefined by Duke & Woodard, a new exhibition focusing on the two-dimensional works of Colorado painter Duke Beardsley and the three-dimensional bronzes of Utah sculptor Greg Woodard.
“We are excited to showcase the work of these two contemporary artists who are among the leaders in pushing the boundaries of Western art,” says Seth Hopkins, the museum’s executive director. “We have had work by both of these artists in our permanent collection for many years, but this show will give our audience the chance to see the full breadth of their creativity.”
Beardsley, known for his contemporary Pop Artinspired cowboys, painted 16 brand new works for the show, including many works featuring multiple canvases. He estimates there are 16 works, but 40 canvases in total. “I’ve known about Greg and his work for a while, and we’ve been overlapping for some time, so I’m glad the Booth has come up with this cool combo for us
together,” Beardsley says. “He comes at it from the Native American side, and I come at it through the cowboy side. It works out perfectly.”
For Beardsley, he takes great pride in pushing the envelope as far as what Western art can be. “To me, what I’m doing is a very different kind of West than Charlie Russell, and that’s OK. I grew up adoring Remington and Russell, but I also had an art education on the East Coast and I came to deep understanding about modern art. So I never wanted to be Remington or Russell. I want to be me,” he says. “I think of my work as snapshots influenced by [Eadweard] Muybridge and [Andy] Warhol. It’s both stylistic and representational.”
The Colorado painter adds that the West is owned by anyone who sets foot within its loosely defined boundaries. “Whether you’ve been here for five generations or five minutes—or you’re wearing a burka or a Stetson—if you’re in the West, then you own a part of this great legacy.”
For Woodard, who was largely self-taught, his work will include pieces that seemingly break away from the boundaries they’ve been given, including several pieces of Native Americans and buffalo that are bursting from “Indian head” pennies and nickels.
The exhibition continues through February 21 in Cartersville.