A New Take on Galleries: Contemporary Western Arts Annual Exhibition

This annual exhibition is organized with the support of The Embassy of the Principality of Monaco in Washington D. C.

Last September, during Cody Art Week, Contemporary Western Arts, a “new private space gallery” in Cody, launched a unique “once a year exhibition” created to invite the community to discover, in a private set up, different artists, different voices and views of “Western Art.” The idea of having galleries show in their “homes” or private spaces became a trend in the art world a few years ago in large cities due to the rising costs of commercial real estate. It also provides a more intimate and personal way to discover art in the context of a real home allowing for an eclectic display of art.

Contemporary Western Arts was created by Monaco (born and raised) Galeriste and Curator Mrs. Silas Von Morisse who moved to Cody after 25+ years as former Gallery Manager of Christie’s NY “Haunch of Venison”, and director for Silas von Morisse Gallery and important Blue Chip Galleries in New York. After a long career with traditional and contemporary art, von Morisse long time love for the Far West and its indigenous heritage made her want to show Western Art with a different approach.

“The exhibition — says von Morisse — is an invitation to expand your mind and discover art and artists with different voices, views and propositions about Western Art and the West. Its about the dialogue and the stories between the pieces presented here and showing that traditional Western Arts can co-exist with contemporary styles and views. This year we have 8 artists in the exhibition: four artists from Cody and four artists coming from Marfa Texas, Scottsdale Arizona, South Dakota and Montana.”

The exhibition takes place once a year inviting the community to discover contemporary artists working with Western themes. Bridging cultures through the artistic expressions of the American West, the exhibition celebrates the fusion of ancient traditions and contemporary creativity in a dialogue between contemporary voices, timeless Indigenous artistry, and modern Western influences.

The artists presented this year during Cody Art Week at Contemporary Western Arts are:

• Maryam Amiryani, Marfa TX
• Jesse Fales, Cody
• Wade Patton (Oglala Lakota), South Dakota
• John Isaiah Pepion (Blackfeet), Montana
• M.C. Poulsen, Cody
• Josh Louchheim, Scottsdale AZ
• Chris Pfister, Cody
• Andre von Morisse, Cody

Jesse Fales

Jesse Fales (Cody), presenting her new Collection of Wild life Ceramics. Born and raised in Cody, Jesse started making sculptural functional ceramics in 2002. Jesse’s precious Wild Life Ceramics are shaped by her life on her family Rimrock Dude Ranch and reflect her life-long experience in the Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone backcountry. As a sculptor working in traditional ceramic forms, Jesse finds inspiration in the majestic animals and rich cultural heritage of the Rocky Mountain region. Her functional ceramic sculptures blend simple, timeless forms like bowls and vases with intricate, complex depictions of iconic animals such as horses, deer, moose and bison.

This juxtaposition of delicate and rough, quiet and playful elements reflects the beauty and ruggedness of the natural world. Drawing from ancient pottery forms and techniques, Fales work celebrates the harmony between nature and human experience, inviting viewers to connect with the land and its inhabitants. Through her art, she aims to capture the essence of the Rocky Mountains wild beauty and the enduring spirit of its creatures.

Maryam Amiryani

Maryam Amiryani (Marfa, TX), presenting her portrait of “Sitting Bull, Native American Warriors” from her series “Bibliophile.” A bibliophile is “a person who collects or has a great love of books.” Amiryani’s painted her favorite book covers she cherishes the most revealing her essential relationships with each of them. With Sitting Bull, Native American Warriors, Amiryani chose to recognize, and honor those who came before. She has always had a fascination with native inhabitants of a land, their way of living, impact on, and survival. The first people Amiryani remembers watching/seeing as a child in Shiraz, Iran (where she was born) were the Qashquai tribal people, nomads famous for their weavings.

Amiryani is an Iranian-American painter and still-life artist. Her sparse and individualistic still-life paintings often focus on one or two carefully chosen themes and objects Amiryani was born in Shiraz, Iran in 1967. She immigrated with her family to Paris in 1978, and currently lives in Marfa, Texas. Her work is in prominent Art Collections in the US, including the Lannan Foundation. Many of Amiryani’s paintings are currently on long-term view as a public art project at By Art Matters (OEli) in Hangzhou, China, run by the Italian curator Francesco Bonami.

Josh Louchheim

Josh Louchheim (Scottsdale AZ), presenting “Dwellings of the Past”, oil on canvas depicting the quiet majesty of three teepees set against the vastness of the desert creating a sense of depth and timeless presence honoring the resilience and enduring spirit of Indigenous life. Louchheim is a self-taught artist, living and working in Scottsdale, Arizona where his family relocated in the late 80’s. Louchheim began painting at the end of 2009 and has been exhibiting his work since 2011. As a contemporary Western artist living in the heart of Arizona, his work offers a unique perspective on the American West.

Arizona’s striking landscape, with its vast deserts, rugged mountains, and dramatic skies, serves as both a muse and backdrop for his artistic journey. The natural beauty and stark contrasts of this region inspire his exploration of color and form, allowing him to create pieces that express the essence of the West as he sees it through his eyes. Louchheim’s artistic practice is deeply rooted in the diverse culture and history of the Southwest. He draws inspiration from the traditions of the indigenous people and early settlers, that founded the modern west, weaving these narratives into his work.

Wade Patton

Wade Patton (Oglala Lakota) (South Dakota), presenting new ledger art drawings and exclusive beaded cuffs. A renown Lakota artist working through storytelling keeping the Lakota legends alive, Wade Patton is an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe and grew up on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, surrounded by a rich culture of music and art. While pursuing art opportunities on the East Coast of the United States, he longed for home and began drawing the landscapes of home in South Dakota – the splendor of the Black Hills, the landscape and skies. The influences of his land and ancestry are prevalent in Patton’s artwork, which is respectful of his people, their stories and the land where he is from. Wade is a storyteller for his culture, keeping the Lakota legends alive in a contemporary manner. Through storytelling and design, he draws people into his work and explains the meanings he infuses in his art (symbology, colors, animals, etc.), thereby creating conversation.

Presented at Contemporary Western Arts will be his new ledger drawings and exclusive beaded cuffs. The artist will be present Sept 17 and 18 for Cody Art Week.

John Isaiah Pepion

John Isaiah Pepion (Piikani/Blackfeet) (Montana), presenting ledger art drawings is a renowned rising star in the Native American Contemporary artist community and well known for his Ledger Art. He has developed a unique style that honors older indigenous art, including historic ledger art created predominantly by Plains Indians who used old ledger paper to depict tribal history and document the rapid changes in their culture from the 1860s to the 1920s. A noted contemporary indigenous artist and renowned graphic ledger artist, muralist, and educator based on the Blackfeet reservation in Browning, Montana. Pepion had the honor of being selected as the poster artist for the new PBS documentary by filmmaker Ken Burns titled “The American Buffalo.” His Plains Indian graphic art combines traditional design and contemporary illustrations. John considers his art journey ceremonial because his understanding of his past, family, and culture grows with each piece he creates. He had the honor of being selected as the poster artist for the new PBS documentary by the renowned filmmaker Ken Burns titled “The American Buffalo.” Presented at Contemporary western Arts are his ledger art drawings.

Chris Pfister

Chris Pfister (Cody), presenting his big (and tiny) desert landscapes of Wyoming. Pfister began painting satirical versions of landscape works by European painters: Claude Lorrain, George Stubbs, and other artists. As his work has evolved and matured, Pfister has come into his own with a rich, compelling oeuvre inspired by the timeless West where the views of golden hills rolling into infinity are expansive and spectacular. Pfister lives in Cody WY on his cattle ranch east of Yellowstone, where the New York ex-pat enjoys a rustic life with his family. He makes his own paints and oils spending decades perfecting his medium working and re-working various oil mixtures in order to find the perfect consistency for each homemade pigment he uses. Pfister’s latest flaxseed oil derived paints—his best yet—have taken on a new, more monochromatic palette. Black, brown, and grey predominate revealing the Wyoming desert landscape in its splendor.

MC Poulsen

MC Poulsen (Cody), presenting a Geyser from Yellowstone National Park painted exquisitely in an impressionistic manner. A small gem. Award Winning Western artist known for his Landscapes, Yellowstone Waterfalls, Wildlife, Indian and Western Lifestyle Paintings, Poulsen’s art career has spanned over 45 years. He participates annually in shows and exhibitions across the country, including those held by the Autry National Center in Los Angeles; the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma; the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming; the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana; the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis. His work is featured in galleries in New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah, California and Arizona.

Andre von Morisse

Andre von Morisse (Cody), presenting his portrait of Prince Albert 1er Prince de Monaco. Andre von Morisse is a conceptual painter, interested in exploring aspects of human psychology and how we interact with the world. Last year, the artist presented “Three Amigos” (Meeting Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, Sitting Bull), 2024, presently on view at POP! Goes the West at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West until January 2026.

His works were featured in many group shows in galleries and museums in the US: Kunstnerenes Hus Oslo, Norway; The Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC; Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL; Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI; Museum of Southwest Texas, Midland, TX ; Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX. In 2005, Von Morisse was the recipient of the Best New Contemporary Artists Award 2005, at the Kunstnerenes Hus Museum, Oslo, Norway. Von Morisse work is held in prominent museum and private collections in the United States.

For more information about the show visit contemporarywesternarts.com

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