Wes Hempel
RECONNECTION
2
WES HEMPEL Reconnection
LewAllenGalleries Railyard Arts District | 1613 Paseo de Peralta | Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 | tel 505.988.3250 www.lewallengalleries.com | info@lewallengalleries.com cover: Forecast Affection, 2014, Oil on canvas, 48 x 56 in
WES HEMPEL Reconnection Joining the symbolic incarnations and technical fluency of classical art with the eclectic borrowings of Postmodernism, Wes Hempel’s paintings explore the divide between the ancient and modern, reason and passion, the august and the quotidian. Provoking a reconsideration of assumed narratives of masculinity and myth, sociocultural examinations are rendered in sensuously modeled flesh tones, gleaming marble surfaces, and the immersive calm of Aracadian landscape—proving as visually alluring as they are conceptually rigorous. Hempel has long committed himself to re-envisioning the depiction of masculinity in contemporary art. By setting psychologically acute portraits of modern-day males against backgrounds appropriated from such disparate sources as Neoclassical history painting and Dutch Golden Age landscapes, the artist’s works forge provocative dialogues between the exigencies of the present and its endowments from the past. Says the artist of his frequent interest in mythology-based paintings, “They were born out of my fascination with the way the stories of classical mythology are able to embody large human truths (which generally resist conceptualization) while containing at the same time fanciful, often enigmatic elements.” Born in Southern California in 1953, Hempel received his B.A. from California State University, Northridge, and his M.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder. His art has been the subject of close to a hundred solo and group exhibitions and is included in a growing number of esteemed private and public collections internationally.
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Reconnection, 2015, Oil on canvas, 22 x 17 in
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Unexpected Blessing, 2015, Oil on canvas, 30 x 22 in
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Study for Spell (Minotaur), 2015, Oil on canvas, 36 x 30 in
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Influence (Study), 2015, Oil on canvas, 26 x 20 in
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All Apposites Reconciled (Study), 2015, Oil on canvas, 18 x 16 in
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Nest, 2015, Oil on canvas, 24 x 24 in
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Study for Source 11, 2015, Oil on canvas, 32 x 24 in
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Library of Sighs, Study #1, 2015, Oil on canvas, 16 x 16 in
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Library of Sighs, Study #3, 2015, Oil on canvas, 16 x 16 in
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London, Van Dyck Series, 2015, Oil and graphite on gessoed book page, 12.75 x 9.5 in
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Hunter, Italian Series, 2015, Oil and graphite on gessoed book page, 11.75 x 9 in
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p. 23, Classical Series, 2015, Oil and graphite on gessoed book page, 12.75 x 9.5 in
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Drawings, Van Dyck Series, 2015, Oil and graphite on gessoed book page, 12.75 x 9.5 in
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Antwerp, Van Dyck Series, 2015, Oil and graphite on gessoed book page, 12.75 x 9.5 in
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p. 7, Van Dyck Series, 2016, Oil and graphite on gessoed book page, 12.75 x 9.5 in
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p. 235, Van Dyck Series, 2015, Oil and graphite on gessoed book page, 12.75 x 9.5 in
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p. 1252, Van Dyck Series, 2016, Oil and graphite on gessoed book page, 12.75 x 9.5 in
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p. 164, Van Dyck Series, 2016, Oil and graphte on gessoed book page, 12.75 x 9.5 in
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p. 111, Van Dyck Series, 2016, Oil and graphite on gessoed book page, 12.75 x 9.5 in
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(Don’t) Wait, 2015, Oil on canvas, 16 x 16 in
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Wes Hempel
b. 1953
EDUCATION 1988 1985
2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1995 1994 1993 1991 1990 1988 1987
University of Colorado, Boulder, MS California State University Northridge, BA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2016 2014 2014 2012 2011 2011 2009 2009 2006 2005 2005 2004 2003 2001 2000 1998 1998
LewAllen Galleries, Santa Fe, NM George Billis Gallery, New York, NY George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO LewAllen Galleries, Santa Fe, NM Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA and New York, NY Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO Jenkins Johnson Gallery, New York, NY Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO Jenkins-Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO Claire Oliver Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA University of Wyoming Art Museum, Laramie Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2016 2015 2014 2013 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005
Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ George Billis Gallery, New York, NY Cal Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA Arvada Center for the Arts, Arvada, CO Albuquerque Museum of Art, Albuquerque, NM RedLine Arts Center, Denver, CO Jenkins Johnson Gallery, NY & CA Jenkins Johnson Gallery, NY & CA LewAllen Galleries, Santa Fe, NM Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO Jenkins Johnson Gallery, NY & CA Federal Reserve Bank, Kansas City, MO Jenkins Johnson Gallery, NY & CA Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO Jenkins Johnson Gallery, New York, NY Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA Jenkins Johnson Gallery, NY & CA LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO Leslie Lohman Foundation, New York, NY Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE Tatistcheff Gallery, New York, NY Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA Lizardi Harp Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA Republic Plaza, Denver, CO Davidson Gallery, Seattle, WA Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO The Corning Gallery, New York, NY Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA Davidson Gallery, Seattle, WA Lizardi/Harp Gallery, Los Angeles, CA University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Claire Oliver Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA Republic Plaza, Denver, CO Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, CO Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, NY Robischon Gallery, Denver, Colorado Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA Claire Oliver Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA Aspen Art Museum Aspen, CO Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO Boulder Public Library, Boulder, CO University of Colorado, Boulder Arte Vitale Gallery, Denver, CO Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO University of Colorado, Boulder River Art Works, Denver, CO
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, NY Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, NY
SELECTED HONORS & AWARDS 2002 1992 23
Creative Fellowship in Painting, Colorado Council on the Arts Creative Fellowship in Literature, Colorado Council on the Arts
Railyard Arts District | 1613 Paseo de Peralta | Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 | tel 505.988.3250 www.lewallengalleries.com | info@lewallengalleries.com Š 2016 LewAllen Contemporary LLC Artwork Š Wes Hempel