VISCERAL
June 20 - July 8, 2023
Reception: Friday, June 23, 5-7pm / Artist Talk: 6:00pm
Strata Gallery presents an Established Member’s first solo exhibition, VISCERAL, by Wyoming based artist Shelby Shadwell. The exhibition opens June 20, with a special reception on Friday, June 23, 5:00 – 7:00 pm and an Artist Talk at 6:00 pm.
Shelby Shadwell’s work consists of large-scale charcoal and pastel drawings of non-traditional imagery such as gut piles left over from big game hunts and space blankets used in emergency situations to stay warm. The drawings may illicit feelings of disgust or revulsion and awe or ecstasy simultaneously due to the contrast between the vulgarity or ephemerality of the imagery juxtaposed with its meticulous, hyper-realistic, rendering. Shelby’s work allows viewers space to ask questions about low and high status in artistic subject matter and romantic tropes in contemporary western art.
Shelby is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Wyoming. From Springfield, MO, Shelby received his BFA in 2003 from Washington University in St. Louis and his MFA in 2006 from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His work has been exhibited throughout the nation at venues including the Portland Art Museum, OR, William Havu Gallery in Denver, CO, and Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, OH. For more information on Shelby and his work, please visit his website at www.shelbyshadwell.com or Instagram @shelbyshadwell.
Shelby Shadwell, VISCERAL 4 / charcoal, pastel on polyester / 85" x 85" / 2021
Shelby Shadwell, VISCERAL 4 / charcoal, pastel on polyester / 85" x 85" / 2021
Shelby Shadwell, VISCERAL 4 / charcoal, pastel on polyester / 85" x 85" / 2021