Neon Rodeo (Fast Horses, Cornfed Hogs, and Wild Women)

Rosson Crow
Neon Rodeo (Fast Horses, Cornfed Hogs, and Wild Women)
2007
Oil, enamel and acrylic on canvas
224.0 x 305.0 cm

American painter Rosson Crow is known for her lush large-scale canvases that depict interior spaces informed by a diverse range of historical and theatrical references such as Baroque and Rococo interior design, and cowboy culture. She also explores individual psychology and the ways in which national identity is shaped around moments of historical significance. While Crow’s paintings appear smooth on the surface at a glance from a distance, the texture of the materials is accentuated by the combination of multiple layers of oil paint, enamel, and spray paint with a close look. She often picks up the subject matters which show entertainments with masculine taste such as rodeos, boxing, and bars.

This painting titled Neon Rodeo (Fast Horses, Cornfed Hogs, and Wild Women) depicts an entertainment district dazzling with glittering neon lights. The dripping paint reminding graffitti blurs the distinction between reality and fiction of the scenery. This distorted landscape, overlapped with our uncertain memories, evokes the feeling of nostalgia towards a lost past.

(Commentary & Translation: Tomoya Iwata)