Los Angeles, CA
Maxwell Alexander Gallery, December 14-21
Joshua LaRock, Descent, oil, 21 x 28.
This story was featured in the December 2019/January 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art December 2019/January 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
IT IS OFTEN SAID that you can’t go home again, but for figurative painter Joshua LaRock, returning home was part of a journey that led to some exciting changes in his life and work. After years of travel and study in New York and throughout the world, LaRock recently moved back to his hometown of Austin, TX. This month the artist unveils a new body of work inspired by his return to the West in a solo show at Maxwell Alexander Gallery. The show opens with an artist’s reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, December 14, and runs through December 21.
LaRock’s eight large pieces in the show represent a new endeavor for the artist. “I’ve spent the last 10 years or so focusing on contemporary re-alist portraiture—but since I moved back to Austin, I’ve become more inspired by southwestern artwork,” he says. LaRock’s interest in western art was initially piqued while he was teaching at the Scottsdale Artists’ School a while back. “That’s where I became more aware of the western art genre—and I was pleasantly surprised by how figurative it is,” he says. During one of his trips to Arizona, he met an Apache woman named Leanne Murphy, and she offered to give him a tour of her state, including the Monument Valley landscape with its iconic sandstone formations. “I was so inspired by the variety of landscapes and all that Arizona has to offer,” LaRock says.
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- Joshua LaRock, Braids, oil, 27 x 21.
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- Joshua LaRock, Desert Repose, oil, 21 x 38.
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- Joshua LaRock, Return Home, oil, 19 x 33.
Murphy and others helped him continue to explore the diverse people and places in the region. When he returned to his studio with a catalog of photographs, he was ready to translate everything he’d seen and learned onto his canvas. While the figure is still his primary focus, these new works also highlight the landscapes and cultures of the West in a profound way. “My central purpose is about reveling in the beauty and magnifi-cence of nature and people within that environment,” he says. Of course, some of his own story is naturally communicated in these works, too. “For me, it’s about returning to my Texas roots—like a coming-home story. I have so many memories of the arid landscapes here, and I’m really looking forward to returning to those places and exploring even more.”
Gallery director Beau Alexander is equally excited about LaRock’s new venture. “His journey reminds me of the artists of the 1900s, who were classically trained on the East Coast and in Europe and happened to discover the West later on,” he says. “Now, LaRock is bringing that technical ability to depict the human figure and landscape back to the West—and we are lucky to be along for the journey.” —Lindsay Mitchell
contact information
213.275.1060
www.maxwellalexandergallery.com
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- Joshua LaRock, Rising Shadows, oil, 29 x 54.
This story was featured in the December 2019/January 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art December 2019/January 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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