Iconic Views
“There are metaphors about going from the frying pan into the fire,” Sean Michael Chavez laughs, recounting his plunge into the Western art world. Just three years since his first solo show in Santa Fe, New Mexico, his gritty portrayals of cowboys and the landscapes they call home have caught the eye of collectors and museum curators across the country.
“It’s just blown me away,” says Chavez, whose CV includes the curator’s award at New Western Talent, a spot at the Couse-sharp Historic Site benefit La Luz de Taos, and a second invitation to the Coors show in Denver next January.
“The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is particularly poignant for me,” says Chavez, a frequent visitor to Oklahoma, where his wife’s family lives. “To be able to hang my work in that museum, within those walls—that is a true honor and so special to me,” he says. The company the artist keeps there makes Chavez’s return to Small Works, Great Wonders this fall even more meaningful. “I never could have envisioned that would even be possible,” he says of his work hanging in the same realm as Frederic Remington, even temporarily.
For his third solo show at Acosta-strong in Santa Fe, which opens August 8, Chavez nods to those halls of heroes who came before. “Icons came up as the idea for me personally, as kind of an homage to shoulders of giants that I happen to be standing on,” says Chavez. Filling conspicuous gaps in the history of the West, the figures in his paintings are icons in their own right. Studying vaquero culture has helped him learn about himself and the history of New Mexico, the artist tells us.
“The vaqueros were the first cowboys in the Americas,” says gallery owner Carlos Acosta, emphasizing the importance of telling richer stories of the region through art. “That’s what Sean is doing. What I love the most about Sean’s work is its authenticity. He comes from that lineage.”
Acosta continues, “I think it’s extremely important to have that voice in my gallery. There are a lot of Hispanic artists out there, but very few of them get real representation. For me, it’s important to show their work and show their value.”
Long before he had a chance to meet Acosta on an artistic level, Chavez was a fan of his Canyon Road gallery. “I had been visiting that gallery secretly as an artist undercover before, knowing that one day, when I was ready, this would be the place I’d be bringing my portfolio to,” Chavez confesses.
Being “ready,” it turns out, is a little subjective. After meeting in January of 2019, Acosta offered Chavez a solo show—a full year ahead of the personal timeline the burgeoning artist had set for himself. “I was really impressed with his work, but I was even more impressed with him,” says Acosta. “I just loved his energy, his presence. And right away, I was like, this is somebody I’d love to work with,” says Acosta.
“I just saw his potential as an artist.”
By April of the same year, Chavez had mounted his first solo show, diving headlong into the proverbial fire. “It just clicked,” says Acosta. “The very first day he brought in his work, I sold something,” he remembers. “Every show that I’ve had for Sean has sold out. Everything that he makes sells.” Acosta acknowledges, “It’s a wonderful problem to have.” For savvy collectors hoping to nab a Sean Michael Chavez work from Icons, Acosta recommends getting on the gallery’s mailing list for advance viewing opportunities.
Mature and focused, there’s a welldeveloped visual resonance in Chavez’s paintings, a voice truly his own. His grand, yet gritty scenes are marked by dynamic compositions and dusty palettes that reinforce the narratives in the work. “In a way, I don’t want anything to be overly finished,” Chavez says of his exposed construction lines and direct paint application. Leaving things ‘a little bit raw,’ with a touch of ‘primitivism,’ as he calls it, makes room for the viewer’s own interpretation, says Chavez. “I always kind of lived my life this way—to sort of do something a little bit different, tweak it a bit to stand out.”
Chavez grew up in New Mexico, but like many kids, didn’t appreciate the “small Paris” in his own backyard until much later. “I’ve been living with this my entire life and didn’t even realize it,” he says, emphasizing the concentration of art and artists in his home state.
When it came time to make his mark on the Santa Fe scene—a year “early” by his humble estimation—chavez hit the ground running and hasn’t let up since. While the Acostastrong show is still hanging, the artist will be gearing up for another season on the museum circuit, adding to an already stellar resume.
“Sean is definitely on the rise. And I’m not just saying that as somebody who loves him and represents him. I just see it,” says Acosta. Despite the demand for Chavez’s work, he’s not taking anything for granted, says Acosta.
With his fine-tuned style, easy demeanor and Western work ethic, we’re sure to see more of Chavez in the future. Perhaps the artist himself is an icon in the making as well.
For a direct link to the exhibiting gallery go to www.westernartcollector.com