Serial Western: The Colorful Cowboys of Keith Davis

william reaves fine art • march 1 - march 22, 2013

Cover image: Keith Davis, Hollis, 2013, oil on board, 24 x 19 inches

In the “Go Texan” spirit of the Houston Live Stock Show and Rodeo, William Reaves Fine Art is pleased to feature recent works by Austin artist, Keith Davis, in an online exhibition entitled, Serial Western. Like trail riders rolling into Me-morial Park, Davis’s whimsical paintings of vintage cowboy characters decked in full regalia ride into the Reaves Gallery just in time to participate in Houston’s annual salute to the legacy and romance of the cowboy culture.

Just like Houston (and its Live Stock Show), with equal parts time-honored Texas tradition and equal parts cutting-edge creativity, we think Keith Davis’s paintings work! His color-ful cast of cowboys offer fresh and engaging imagery built on a magical past. Upon encountering the paintings in Serial Western, we are betting viewers will agree that Davis brings to town a very cool and unique brand of modern art!

Although very much from the present, Davis’s cowboy subjects are a throw-back to earlier times. Channeling the sense and feel of an old Western serial, he brings contem-porary western characters back to the stage in a sensitive and dramatic fashion. As a modernist painter, Davis is an unabashed colorist who flirts with the tenets of magical realism in his overall approach. His distinctive renditions combine fanciful composition with bold palette and serious portraiture, and the results are a series of evocative and entertaining artworks with style and timbre somewhere be-tween that of Joseph Leyendecker, Maynard Dixon or Andy Warhol.

As an artist, Keith Davis is as unique as his work. A flatland-er originally from Levelland (on the High Plains), Davis relo-cated several years back to Austin, Texas. Self-taught and unaffected as an artist, he lives and works in his diminutive studio. There, by his own admission, he lives out the mod-ern-day lifestyle of a “starving artist”, painting daily, honing his instincts and operating close to the bone between his sales. In his work, Davis employs an obviously active and creative mind to conjure up cowboy paintings with grand flourish, and, in this case, much like the subjects he brings to life, the artist is himself a sure-fired Texas character.

In Serial Western, we invite viewers to “return again to those thrilling days of yester-year” to encounter a new, contemporary cowboy scene created through the eyes and brush of Keith Davis. Undeniably, the exhibition offers up a series of enchanting sitters portrayed in avant-garde style that are every bit as beguiling and fun to watch as the old-time Westerns that inspired them.

So, saddle up, Pardner, enjoy the ride and GO TEXAN!

Bill Reaves

Serial Western: The Colorful Cowboys of Keith Davis

Plate Title of Work Date Medium Dimensions1 Bennett 2013 oil on board 16 x 13.5 in.2 Brew 2012 oil on masonite 24 x 19 in.3 Bucking Cowboy 2013 oil on board 32 x 42 in.4 Campfire Cooking 2012 oil on board 32 x 45 in.5 Cowboys Playing Cards 2012 oil on panel 36 x 48 in.6 Hollis 2013 oil on board 24 x 19 in.7 Joe 2012 oil on masonite 24 x 19 in.8 Ol’ Max 2011 oil on board 16 x 18 in.9 Pete 2012 oil on wood 24 x 17 in.

10 Red Mike 2012 oil on masonite 24 x 29 in.11 Rex 2013 oil on board 24 x 18 in.12 Sad Cowboy 2012 oil on board 24 x 20 in13 Sheriff 2012 oil on panel 24 x 19.25 in.14 Singing Cowboy 2013 oil on board 41.5 x 35 in.15 Zane 2013 oil on board 30 x 24 in.

Exhibition ChecklistSerial Western: The Colorful Cowboys of Keith Davis

Plates

1. Keith Davis, Bennett, 2013, oil on board, 16 x 13.5 inches

2. Keith Davis, Brew, 2012, oil on masonite, 24 x 19 inches

3. Keith Davis, Bucking Cowboy, 2012, oil on board, 32 x 24 inches

4. Keith Davis, Campfire Cooking, 2012, oil on board, 32 x 45 inches

5. Keith Davis, Cowboys Playing Cards, 2012, oil on panel, 36 x 48 inches

8. Keith Davis, Hollis, 2013, oil on board, 24 x 19 inches

9. Keith Davis, Joe, 2012, oil on masonite, 24 x 19 inches

10. Keith Davis, Ol’ Max, 2011, oil on board, 16 x 18 inches

11. Keith Davis, Pete, 2012, oil on wood, 24 x 17 inches

12. Keith Davis, Red Mike, 2012, oil on masonite, 24 x 19 inches

13 Keith Davis, Rex, 2013, oil on board, 24 x 18 inches

14. Keith Davis, Sad Cowboy, 2012, oil on board, 24 x 20 inches

15. Keith Davis, Sheriff, 2012, oil on panel, 24 x 19.25 inches

18. Keith Davis, Singing Cowboy, 2009, oil on board, 41.5 x 35 inches

17. Keith Davis, Zane, 2013, oil on board, 30 x 24 inches

William Reaves Fine Art2313 Brun Street • Houston, Texas • 77019

Tel: 713.521.7500Email: INFO@reavesart.com

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