SOLO EXHIBITION | JACKSON, WY
Altamira Fine Art Jackson is pleased to present an introductory show for Jackson-based artist Wendell Locke Field. Join us for an artist reception Saturday, December 29 from 5-8pm.
Paintings as life; life as painting. This is the palindrome by which Wendell Locke Field has spent the past three decades, working to capture the beauty he finds all around him in his adopted home of Jackson Hole. Each painting suspends a moment of appreciation and acknowledgment, a treasured scene held and honored. As only an artist can. As only Field can.
In a world obsessed with action and distinction, Field renders scenes that coalesce and cohere—a courageous stance on stillness. He paints homecomings, restoring a sense of belonging, not recognized as missed until encountered in the presence of such peace.
Born in Kalamazoo Michigan, Field grew up on a dairy farm surrounded by lakes, woods, relatives and neighbors. In this idyllic place, he learned how to channel his curiosity into stillness and observation—the essential skill of a nature-oriented artist. Field considers this the “beautiful struggle” of art-making, the mission “to be when everyone wanted me to do.”
From Michigan, he moved to Laramie to study agricultural business at the University of Wyoming. Now, he lives in a yurt at the edge of Grand Teton National Park, an enclave reminiscent of his joyful childhood. “Living in Kelly—its soulfulness, proximity to nature and the mountains—is a huge blessing that constantly influences my work,” Field says.
The Tetons frame his days as they do his paintings: a shaping of self and aesthetic, a contouring of present and future. A sense of quiet communion pervades his compositions: unhurried snowflakes fall on freshly-chopped firewood, portending the crackling fires to come; a homestead of accumulated effects—classic log cabin joined by a short bus, ranch gate (no fencing), road signs, propane tank, and satellite dish—suggests time passing calmly in pace with generations. Integrity lived but not performed.
Guided by instinct, he lets his paintbrush explore representation and abstraction in tandem. Profoundly attuned to the color, he seeks out contrast, the seams between light and dark, warm and cool, density and luminosity. Or, as his late friend David Swift remarked one day after riding his bike by Field painting en plein air: “Your paintings are a marvel, a precise looseness with real affection and a palette that nails the joyous side of local color.”
A marvel indeed. Field embodies painting as play and practice, as heart and hand; paint as material and meditation; place as subject and soul.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in Kalamazoo Michigan, Wendell Locke Field grew up on a dairy farm surrounded by lakes, woods, relatives and neighbors. In this idyllic place, he learned how to channel his curiosity into stillness and observation—the essential skill of a nature-oriented artist. Field considers this the “beautiful struggle” of art-making, the mission “to be, when everyone wanted me to do.”
From Michigan, he moved to Laramie to study agricultural business at the University of Wyoming. Now, he lives in a yurt at the edge of Grand Teton National Park, an enclave reminiscent of his joyful childhood. “Living in Kelly—its soulfulness, proximity to nature and the mountains—is a huge blessing that constantly influences my work,” Field says.
Beyond Wyoming, he has also spent time in New Mexico, and traveled extensively in Asia and South America. In addition to oil painting, Field makes watercolors, block prints, sculpture, and public art.