Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, IN
September 8-October 6
Strong forms, striking styles and materials pushed to new limits mark the offerings at the 19th annual Quest for the West Art Show and Sale, which will have its opening weekend September 6 and 7 at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis. Each evening, patrons and collectors will be able to purchase paintings and sculptures by 50 top artists of the American West.
Dean Mitchell, Below the Mountain, acrylic, 21 x 38.
As Johanna M. Blume, the Eiteljorg curator of Western art, history and culture says, artists “who return to Quest for the West each year relish the opportunities to connect with collectors, sell their new works and participate in the Quest art awards. Loyal collectors return each year to renew their acquaintance with favorite artists and shop for exciting new paintings and sculptures…Moreover, the Quest miniature art sale with the same artists [September 6, the night before the main sale] is a convenient option for experienced collectors who have no more room for large pieces or for new collectors looking for more affordable options.”
Stephanie Revennaugh, The Rustle of the Morning Stars, bronze, ed. of 33, 21 x 32 x 5.
Blume continues, “Eight of this year’s artists are either newcomers to Quest, or were not in last year’s show: Brandon Bailey, Eric Bowman, S.M. Chavez, David Griffin, Terry Cooke Hall, Brett Allen Johnson, Stephanie Revennaugh and Pati Stajcar. Familiar artists return, such as Robert Griffing, Mark Kelso, Krystii Melaine, Dean Mitchell, P.A. Nisbet, Heide Presse and Dave Santillanes, among others.”
On Saturday night, after a sumptuous awards dinner, works in the main sale will be sold by draw. Art will remain on view at the Eiteljorg from September 8 to October 6. Alongside these, a special exhibition of paintings by 2023 Quest Artist of Distinction, Krystii Melaine, will be featured through October 13.
Brett Allen Johnson, Desert Transom, oil, 12 x 12.
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- Brad Teare, Autumn Serenity, oil, 48 x 48. Courtesy the artist.
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- Rock Newcomb, Southwestern Pre-Columbian Canteens, acrylic, 19.5 x 9.5. Courtesy the artist.
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- Dave LaMure Jr., Ascend, glass and steel, 20 x 10 x 19.
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- John Fawcett, Halcyon Days, oil, 24 x 30.
A pale moon shining above a red mesa through the posts of an open gate in Brett Allen Johnson’s oil DESERT TRANSOM seems almost to welcome and beckon viewers into the show. In SONORAN ELVES, perennial master Gerald Balciar deftly combines four different colored patinas to create a brilliantly textured wildlife tableau of three young owls perched on a cactus in the desert, while Stephanie Revennaugh’s THE RUSTLE OF THE MORNING STARS transforms bronze into gossamer feathers that look as if a breeze might indeed “rustle” them. Dave LaMure Jr.’s glass and steel bighorn sheep bust, ASCEND, allows us to see this majestic North American animal in new ways, as edges and ridges, and also translucently, as if the ram were lit from within.
Krystii Melaine, Tornado, oil on linen, 30 x 30.
Gerald Balciar, Sonoran Elves, bronze, ed. of 45, 14 x 15 x 6.
Melaine’s equine portrait, TORNADO, finds the awakening funnel cloud and the barely contained eye of the storm in a silvery black stallion who might be a little too close to us for comfort. In BELOW THE MOUNTAIN, Dean Mitchell reminds us of nature’s immense longevity, as a chiseled mountain looms over a tiny (relatively speaking) white home. The restrained palette and powerful geometry epitomize a sense of the vastness of the American West, a vastness reflected in the wide range of works at this year’s Quest for the West Art Show and Sale. —James D. Balestrieri
contact information
eiteljorg.org/quest-for-the-west
This story appeared in the August/September 2024 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Subscribe today to read every issue in its entirety.