BY KAREN BOSSICK
Theodore Waddell is more than OK in Oklahoma.
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City is hosting a major solo exhibition of paintings by the nationally renowned artist from Hailey titled “Do You See What I See? Painted Conversations by Theodore Waddell.
The exhibition runs through May 13, 2018. It features more than 40 pieces of all sizes, with several of the works as large as 10 by 18 feet.
The prestigious museum, which sports more than 200,000 square feet of exhibition space, regularly displays mostly traditional interpretations of the American West.
Waddell’s show is one of the first exhibits featuring modern art. His unique style, atypical of most Western art, is highly influenced by the abstract expressionist movement. Yet it carries an undertone typical of Western art in its depictions of the landscape and animals.
Waddell is viewed as a pioneer in bringing a modernist vision to the traditional form of Western Art.
“You have done more than any other living painter to bring modernism into 21st century Western art,” the director of the Yellowstone Art Museum told him when he was presented with the prestigious Governor’s Arts Award by the Montana Arts Council in 2015.
“I prefer art that is open ended and does not attempt to lead me in a certain way or determine my conclusions,” Waddell said. “I want my work to constantly change for me and for those who view it.”
Theodore Waddell is represented locally by Gail Severn Gallery in Ketchum.