Pond Mansion, Tucson, AZ November 22
Since 1948, the Mountain Oyster Club in Tucson, Arizona, has been a fixture among private clubs in the American West and is recognized as “a society of Westerners…” as the club website states, “dedicated to western traditions, art and the western way of life.” On Sunday, November 22, from 3 to 5:30 pm., the club will host its 57th annual Mountain Oyster Club Contemporary Western Art Show and Sale.
This year, over 200 emerging and nationally renowned artists will exhibit their finest new works in traditional and contemporary styles. Attendees will savor cocktails and hors d’oeuvres while taking in the artwork. Laura Davis, chair of the art committee, says, “The show also distinguishes itself through the exceptional quality and diversity of its artists. The exhibition features both nationally recognized, established artists and outstanding emerging talent, giving collectors the opportunity to discover tomorrow’s favorites alongside celebrated names.”
She goes on to describe the unique nature of the show: “One thing that sets the Mountain Oyster art show apart from others is the venue. Rather than a typical art gallery, the show is held in a private dinning club, a beautiful historic mansion listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This unique setting offers visitors an experience that is as memorable as the artwork itself.”
Many beautiful and powerful works will be on view and for sale. WILD AND WOOLLY, a charcoal and gouache by Rachel Brownlee, transforms a medium that is historically reserved for sketches and studies—the work that precedes the work—into a subtle and wonderfully finished work of art. The triple portrait captures three versions of cowboy style, each individual, each brash and bold, from chaps to hat and back again.
Maia Chávez Larkin’s UNDER A RED SUN, a 24-by-18-inch oil, has the palette and mark making of a pastel. The calm, almost divine neutrality of the figure, looking out at us, judging us, and the red sun sending its ruddy, concentric, reverberations across a blue sky, gives the work the air of a tarot card whose meaning we must determine for ourselves.
A bronze of a woman holding a beautiful clay pot, BORN OF CLAY, by Kim Seyesnem Obrzut, tells at least three possible stories: the woman is the artist, holding her art; the woman is a buyer, tucking her purchase under her arm; the woman owns the pot and is off to put it to use. That we do not know exactly which story—and perhaps there are others—is the one told here in bronze is what makes the work intriguing. Only when looking at the whole from a distance, do we realize that it is a single work that takes the shape of a handled vase or jar.
Space is limited at this private show and tickets, which are by invitation and can be requested through the Club, must be purchased in advance. —James D. Balestrieri
contact information(520) 792-0319mountainoysterclub.com
This story appeared in the October/November 2026 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Subscribe today to read every issue in its entirety.
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