Neil Myers

Artist Statement

When I arrived in the American Southwest in 2003, the land just made sense to me. From the arid, dusty flatlands of the Chihuahuan desert, to the equally hot and unforgiving vistas of the Sonoran Desert. In my mind a transference was going on. Provencal expressionism was being restated in the American Southwest. Here was the place to do the work. This was the land that would reflect the feeling – and usher in a new look by way of paintings that lived only in my imagination…at least up until that point.

Taking the time to look at art is something that we should all do whenever we can. Because it will be up to us to see if true culture and lasting values in our arts will escape unscathed in the age of small screens and sound byte attention spans. To take a longer moment, to be alone with the beauty of our natural world is more critical now than ever before. Because in looking at art, we are giving ourselves permission to feel and be alive. It is a call for a long pause – the time we spend before a painting, or sculpture, or listening to a symphony or reading a good book. The permission to be human in the age of distraction and frighteningly short attention spans…