Los Angeles, CA
Maxwell Alexander Gallery, May 23-June 27
Logan Maxwell Hagege, Crawling Light, oil, 24 x 72.
This story was featured in the May 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art May 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
OVER THE past decade, Logan Maxwell Hagege has solidified a reputation as one of the most compelling, sought-after artists working in the genre of western art today. His vivid, stylized paintings have found permanent homes in the collections of the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, and the Briscoe Western Art Museum in San Antonio. Top awards, meanwhile, have been bestowed upon him from premier events including the Autry’s Masters of the American West, the Eiteljorg’s Quest for the West, and the Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale in Denver.
And so Hagege’s major solo show opening at Maxwell Alexander Gallery with a reception on the evening of Saturday, May 23—titled Dear Old Western Sky—constitutes a can’t-miss opportunity for lovers of contemporary fine art. The show’s title, a play on Gene Autry’s 1935 song “Dear Old Western Skies,” pays tribute to the fact that “the sky sets the stage for pretty much everything I paint,” says the Los Angeles-based artist.
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- Logan Maxwell Hagege, The Lucky Old Sun, oil, 75 x 73.
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- Logan Maxwell Hagege, Glimpse of a Day, oil, 35 x 35.
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- Logan Maxwell Hagege, The Man From Bylas, oil, 32 x 25.
That stage grows grander than ever in the 15 new works on display. They include Hagege’s largest canvas ever at 8 by 12 feet, as well as GLIMPSE OF A DAY, his first-ever circular work, which measures 35 inches in diameter not counting its circular gold-leaf frame. Still another painting, THE LUCKY OLD SUN, has impressive dimensions of 73 by 75 inches, the better to depict graphically rendered sagebrush against one of the deep-red rock formations of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona, where Hagege also has a home. “I’ve pushed things on this painting and others to make the landscapes a bit more simplified and stylized,” Hagege says, “while the figures and horses have a little more realism.”
“These latest works,” notes gallery owner Beau Alexander, “mix realism with modernism, contemporary with traditional styles, and Logan is able to seamlessly combine those techniques spanning hundreds of years in a single painting.” Such impressive versatility might be credited to a range of influences, including the artist’s classical atelier-style training and frequent childhood trips out to Southern California’s deserts.
With demand high for Hagege’s art, expect the show to sell out quickly. But even guests who are thwarted in their efforts to acquire his paintings have a chance to bring home something touched by his aesthetic sensibilities. For the event, he has designed a limited-edition, red-and-white bandana featuring a western landscape as well as hand-airbrushed T-shirts, both of which are on sale along with his hardcover book Desert Survey, which includes some of his best-known paintings. Needless to say, the dear old western sky features prominently in them all. —Norman Kolpas
contact information
213.275.1060
www.maxwellalexandergallery.com
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- Logan Maxwell Hagege, Wicked Ways, oil, 43 x 38.
This story was featured in the May 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art May 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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