Would-be Western
Gallery brings colorful cowboy painters to Austin for the first time

Miles Glynn shows off some of his pieces.
Neon cowboys are taking over an Austin art gallery this summer. West Chelsea Contemporary (WCC) is showing the work of two artists who are updating the wild western aesthetic in Neon Range: Pop Visions of the New West. This dual exhibition opening June 14 — actually the “first phase” of a larger show — marks the Austin debuts of both Miles Glynn and Cyrus Walker.
The gallery describes the exhibit as "heritage meets high gloss, and nostalgia rides alongside irony."
The two artists share similar styles that happen to embody the duality of life in Austin: the appreciation of history, versus the campy and sometimes appropriative current reality. Visitors can be assured, these artists don’t intend to recreate the real American West, but to explore what it looks like “as it shimmers in our collective imagination.”
The artists do appeal to slightly different sensibilities.
Glynn takes a print advertisement-inspired, Old Hollywood approach that combines painting, sketches, collage aesthetics, and even neon lights. The irony is more palpable in Glynn’s work, but the work is nonetheless affectionate.
Walker paints in a dramatic comic book or graphic novel style, with a semi-surreal color palette that evokes nature while standing to the side of reality. Most of his work features high-energy posing and dynamic scenes, and some pieces sneak in sci-fi imagery.
After this phase ends, Phase 2 will be unveiled July 19. WCC promises a twist and an artist reveal “that will shift the tone entirely.”
Fans of playful, colorful works might also consider stopping by the current exhibition, The World of Hunt Slonem. The display gathers more than 100 works by Slonem, whose neo-expressionist bunnies, birds, and butterflies are both fun to look at and may offer a reassuring sense of creative freedom. The exhibition will close June 8.
West Chelsea Contemporary is located at 1009 W. 6th St. Operating hours are Mondays through Saturdays from 10 am to 6 pm, and Sundays from noon to 6 pm.