Tucson, AZ Mountain Oyster Club, November 18
This story was featured in the November 2018 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art November 2018 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
Launched 80 years ago by a small group of Tucson-area ranchers, the Mountain Oyster Club has become known for its lively Southwestern spirit. It remains as strong as ever today, but you don’t necessarily have to be a cowboy to enjoy the experience, says Karen Young, the club’s art committee chairperson. “I’m not a cowgirl by any means, but I’ve been a member for 40 years and love it there,” she adds. “There are people from all over that fall in love with the desert and Southwestern lifestyle, and the M.O. is promoting and preserving that lifestyle and culture.”
The same can be said for the roughly 250 traditional and contemporary western artists from around the United States and Canada who take part in the Mountain Oyster Club’s 49th annual Western Art Show and Sale, which opens at its Pond Mansion on Sunday, November 18, at 3 p.m. The group’s permanent collection of western fine art is temporarily stowed away to make room for the display of nearly 400 juried paintings and sculptures. After the sale on Sunday, which concludes with a drawing at 5:30 p.m., works remain on view and for sale through the first weekend of January. Advance reservations are required to attend the main sale. “The Mountain Oyster show is unique in the fact that it’s so large, and the diversity of artwork is so incredible,” says Young. “There are all sorts of western subjects depicted.”
Among those showcasing their latest creations are about 50 of the club’s honorary artist members, including two new inductees, Bill Nebeker and Sue Krzyston, as well as longtime artist members like Tim Cox, John Fawcett, and Phil Starke. Nebeker has been participating in the Mountain Oyster show “for enough years that I remember showing my bronze sculptures in the old historic Jacome mansion,” he says, referring to the show’s former location. The artist brings CHASIN’ MAVERICKS, a bronze sculpture informed by his experiences helping with roundups and brandings on Arizona ranches. “Chasing a loose cow or steer is an exhilarating job, and one that happens every time cowboys bring in cattle,” he says. “I enjoy bringing reality, accuracy, and authenticity to the life and work of ranching and cowboying.”
Like Nebeker, Krzyston is a veteran participant in the show. Now in her 11th year, the award-winning Arizona artist says she wants viewers to “feel that they could reach out and pick up one of the artifacts” in her still lifes. Her painting RICH IN TEXTURE, featuring an intricately beaded pair of moccasins, typifies her endeavor to do just that. “I use the contrasts of light and shadow,” she notes, “and a variety of textures and surfaces for the light to play on to create a feeling of depth and a three-dimensional quality in my paintings.”
Other acclaimed artists like Allen Polt are relatively new faces in the show. In his painting LADY WITH THE RED GLOVES, Polt used color to reimagine a century-old sepia photograph he found of a young woman dressed in riding attire. “The bow in her hair I could picture in red, and to match, she needed those red gloves, I thought,” he says. “They were probably not that color, but if she could see the painting, I don’t think she’d mind.” Polt moved with his wife from Taos, NM, to Oro Valley, AZ, four years ago, “and we love it,” he says. “When we were first invited to the Mountain Oyster Club, I was introduced to someone who asked, ‘How do you like it here?’ I said, ‘Very much, how about you?’ His answer stuck with me: ‘The only way I’m leaving Tucson is feet first.’ And that about says it.” —Kim Agricola
contact information520.792.0319www.mountainoysterclub.com
This story was featured in the November 2018 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art November 2018 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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