Maxwell Alexander Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
October 14-29
Logan Maxwell Hagege, Runaway Clouds Over a Blue Sky, oil, 52 x 60.
A decade ago, brothers Beau Alexander and Logan Maxwell Hagege together imagined and launched a different kind of art gallery. It would feature the finest contemporary, mostly western, realist painters, “with the goal of doing everything we can to introduce this type of art to a whole new generation, a whole new audience of collectors,” says Alexander. He brought to the venture an entrepreneurial spirit and a business degree from a respected Southern California university, while Hagege was already forging his stellar reputation as one of the most avidly collected artists working today.
The events held the weekend of October 14-16 to mark the gallery’s 10-year anniversary demonstrate just how thoroughly the duo has achieved that original goal. A major show with two or three paintings each by some 30 important gallery artists fills the high-ceilinged, 3,500-square-foot space. The gallery moved to this spot in revitalized downtown Los Angeles five years ago from its original storefront digs 7 miles west in the suburb of Culver City. “You almost feel like you’re walking into a museum,” Alexander notes of the current space.
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- Matt Smith, Winter Skies Over the Tonto, oil, 20 x 26.
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- Kim Wiggins, Valley of the Gods, oil, 36 x 48.
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- Johsua LaRock, Shadow Valley, oil, 50 x 50.
The celebration starts on Friday night with an invitation-only dinner for active collectors. On Saturday evening all are welcome for the opening reception, which begins with a panel discussion including half a dozen of the artists; it’s hosted by Ed Roberson of Mountain & Prairie, a widely respected podcast focusing on innovators in the West. The evening continues with food, beverages, entertainment, and free merchandise including shirts, hats, and totes; many of the artists plan to attend. The weekend concludes with a private VIP luncheon on Sunday in Hagege’s studio, located two hours northwest of Los Angeles in the idyllic Ojai Valley.
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- John Moyers, Vantage Point, oil, 48 x 60.
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- Ed Mell, Scarlet Reflections, oil, 24 x 48.
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- Eric Merrell, Cathedral Wash, oil, 30 x 40.
The artworks, though, are the stunning main attraction. To name just some of the participating artists: Thomas Blackshear II, G. Russell Case, Len Chmiel, Glenn Dean, Josh Elliott, Teresa Elliott, Brett Allen Johnson, Joshua LaRock, T. Allen Lawson, Ed Mell, John Moyers, Terri Kelly Moyers, Howard Post, Billy Schenck, Tim Solliday, Kim Wiggins, and Hagege, of course. Most of them, Alexander says, plan to bring “at least one large-scale piece. Logan is doing one that’s 52 by 60 inches, and Kim Wiggins’ is 40 by 60. It’s literally going to be a monumental show.”
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- Eric Bowman, Long Way Home, oil, 36 x 48.
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- Terri Kelly Moyers, Silk and Sauvignon Blanc, oil, 24 x 36.
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- Howard Post, Changing Pastures, oil, 30 x 30.
Looking back on the past 10 years, Alexander recalls such highlights as lines winding down the street while people waited to get into opening receptions—a result of an effective social-media strategy that has included enthusiastic posts by popular music stars and collectors like singer Bruno Mars and Brandon Flowers, leader of the rock band The Killers. The gallery is also pioneering collaborative ventures with such brands as Pendleton, which has released a blanket based on one of Hagege’s paintings; a soon-to-debut project has Hagege and Blackshear working with the legendary Stetson brand.
Considering such success, Alexander says the advice he wishes he could have given himself 10 years ago is this: “If you always stick close to your vision of creating and presenting quality art, treating the artists as best as possible, and being as honest as possible, you’ll be on the right track, and it’s all going to work out.” —Norman Kolpas
contact information
213.275.1060
www.maxwellalexandergallery.com
This story appeared in the October/November 2022 issue of Southwest Art magazine.