Ben Steele
Gilman Contemporary is excited to announce A Day in the Sun, featuring new works by Ben Steele, whose diverse style brilliantly bridges art history and contemporary culture. Steele’s compositions pay homage to the luminaries of modern art, drawing inspiration from icons like Roy Lichtenstein, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Gustav Klimt. His paintings demonstrate technical precision while intertwining elements of irony, nostalgia, and subtle humor. Steele’s compositions cleverly integrate elements like crayons, Etch A Sketches, and pencils, which can emerge as subjects or become integral parts of the main piece.
Steele’s work captivates with clever visual narratives that resonate with cultural significance, employing a masterful balance between tradition and innovation. Each piece invites dialogue, challenging perceptions and evoking emotions through a lens that is both modern and richly informed by previous art movements. In this exhibition, viewers will experience an engaging exploration of a creative vision that is at once thought-provoking and visually striking.
April-May
Thai Mainhard
Painter Thai Mainhard navigates emotion through the application of vibrant color, gestural brushstrokes, and frenetic textures. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and now based in Los Angeles, California, Mainhard’s paintings exude a sense of place and experience drawn from both locales. In her newest body of work, Mainhard delves into the abstract qualities of composed still-lifes. With a maximalist approach, Mainhard fills her canvases with energy- swatches of bright hues mingle with checkered tablecloths and patterned vases holding loosely rendered botanicals. These compositions serve as a window into the artist’s internal world, capturing the interplay between chaos and order, figurative representation, and expressive abstraction.
Captions:
Sketching Sunflowers
by Ben Steele
oil on canvas with fiberglass frame
24” x 29” x 4”
Sun Valley Vodka Barn
by Ben Steele
oil on canvas
50” x 55”
Warmer with You, 2024
by Thai Mainhard
acrylic, oil sticks, flashe, pastels, and collage on canvas
50” x 40”
661 Sun Valley Road | Ketchum
208.726.7585
gilmancontemporary.com
