Big Rock Candy Mountain is a new show opening Friday at the ultracool Roq la Rue Gallery in Seattle. BB pal and curatrix Kirsten Anderson says the show features “nationally known contemporary artists influenced by differing facets of folk or vernacular art. Ranging from the mountains of Appalachia to the Southwest, each artist has been influenced by the folk art of his area and used it as a jumping point for their own vision.” Artists exhibiting include Gary Monroe (link to previous post), Ryan Greis, Daniel Martin Diaz, Fred Stonehouse, Thomas Huck, and Jon Langford. Seen here is Langford’s “Cowboy Soldier”:
Despite being born a Welshman, Jon Langford (also known as a seminal musician as a member of The Mekons, The Waco Brothers, Pine Valley Cosmonauts, etc.) captures perfectly a sense of a forgotten American West in his paintings, strewn with bones, rusty tin, and faded bandanas. His rough portraits are scratched and sanded to further enhance a feeling of “old timey-ness”. His paintings of faded icons of Americana (such as country western musical heroes Bob Wills, Johnny Cash, and Patsy Cline) are tributes to both the subject of the paintings, as well as autobiographical explorations. His subject and style combines “Outsider” sensibilities with a deft hand and sophisticated sense of musical history.
