Danny Galieote "the american myth"

November 2016 

Inquiries: info@MaxwellAlexanderGallery.com or 310-839-9242

Myth and nostalgia permeate Danny Galieote’s work, but his contemporary treatment of iconic themes pushes it past mere retrospective and into defined narrative.  Maxwell Alexander Gallery will show this unique take November 12-30th, in Culver City, CA, where several new paintings and sketches will be available.  Inspired by Westerns and Santa Monica Beach, Galieote has created a group of paintings from his earliest memories combined with his contemporary vision.

Galieote creates work that he describes as pop-contemporary by pulling from a variety of influences. “The theme is American myth, basically,” says Galieote. “I’m taking concepts of nostalgia and making them a pop-contemporary theme using my inspiration from regionalists-Benton, Grant Wood, Curry-and mixing that with the Renaissance influences. I’m painting those styles and working them with American myths and pop cultural stuff from the 1940s and 1950s.” 

While Galieote has typically worked with these concepts before, what is new is his synthesis of Western iconography, and further development of the figure. No stranger to either, Galieote pulls from his personal experience, and extensive figurative career. Galieote was trained at Art Center College of Design, California Institute of the Arts. He worked several years for Walt Disney Animation Studios, and his professional studio practice has spanned over 20 years.

As for Western influence, Galieote is well versed in Western culture and regionalism. “I grew up with horses, actually. We had a small farm when I was a kid, and I grew up feeding horses and chickens,” Galieote reminisces. Artists and illustrators such as Norman Rockwell, J.C. Leyendecker, and regionalist Thomas Hart Benton further served as inspirations.

Pieces like “American Lioness, “ and “Trick Shot Lucy” combine components of these formative elements with the pinup art of artists like Gil Elvgren.

Join us November 12th for the opening reception.   Models from the paintings will be present, Live Music, and of course the artist himself.   This will be our last opening in our Culver City location, we will be moving locations the following month.