Harper’s is pleased to announce Games of Chance, St. Louis-based artist Chloe West’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. The presentation features new paintings by West and opens Thursday, April 10, 6–8pm, with a reception attended by the artist.
Throughout Games of Chance, West continues to explore the aesthetics of the American West, evoking the haunting vastness of its past. She juxtaposes her own form against hyperreal landscapes of roaming pastures and mountainous terrains. In these new self-portraits, the artist fuses a diverse array of visual cultural references—from the filmic canon of Western movies to medieval and biblical iconography. West, however, subtly incorporates these symbols within the everyday, pulling them into the folds of vernacular landscapes. Alongside these semi-biographical portraits, West includes still lifes filled with bones and discarded debris—the detritus one might encounter on a solitary hike. Together, these dynamic works usher the audience into expansive environments where decay and rebirth are inseparable.
In Gored Cowboy, for example, West embeds herself within the mythic, almost ethereal landscape of the American frontier. Draped in a fringed crimson shirt, she channels the grandeur of the western landscape—only to subvert it with the sharp thrust of an elk antler that pierces her neck supernaturally, without visible wounds to the flesh. This interruption of purity evokes the martyrdom of St. Dymphna, blurring the boundaries between suffering and salvation. Behind her, a surreal desert sprawls out, conjuring the theatricality of a movie set. West’s precise realism arrests the scene here, freezing us in a moment where corrosion and mythology collide, forcing a confrontation with the uncomfortable truth of the untamed West.
In Black Hat, West positions herself again as both subject and critic, standing at the crossroads of American lore and art historical traditions. Here, she dons a jet black hat embroidered with red leather lace as it casts a dark shadow over the sun-kissed hues of her forehead. Her facial expression, heavy with contemplation, gazes directly at the viewer as her eyes squint from the harsh light washing over her face. In the background, mountains stretch in hyperreal detail, situating the cowboy figure within an environment that is cinematic yet inescapably alive. With each brushstroke, West broadens the cultural narratives woven into the historiographies of the American West, carving out space for femininity within the hypermasculine legacy of the cowboy.
Repeatedly, within this potent new body of work, West dismantles the allegorical allure of the American West, exposing the land at the intersection of the sacred and the profane. She deconstructs the boundaries between revered religious iconography, nostalgic folklore, and the gritty, raw vernacular of daily life. In this space of contradiction, West reimagines the cowboy figure, challenging the entrenched machismo of the frontier and its lingering resonance. West’s juxtaposition of vibrant Western-wear clothing with visceral symbols of mortality establishes a tension that reverberates through the works—a commentary on how cultural memory is formed and distorted. Ultimately, throughout Games of Chance, West confronts the idealization of frontier heroism, dismantling its pre-established boundaries, and expanding upon the legacy it left behind. By doing so, she compels the viewer to reckon with the dissonance between the constructed grandeur of the past and the messy, unvarnished truths of its afterlife.
Chloe West (b. 1993, Cheyenne, WY) received a BFA from the University of Wyoming in 2015, and an MFA from Washington University in 2017. She is the recipient of the 2021 Creative Stimulus Award from Critical Mass for the Visual Arts. Most recently, West’s work has been exhibited at Harper’s, New York, East Hampton, and Los Angeles (2024, 2023, and 2022); Galerie Mighela Shama, Geneva (2023 and 2022); Micki Meng/Parker Gallery, New York (2023); Morgan Presents, New York (2023 and 2022); Artgenève, Geneva (2023); PM/AM, online (2021); UNIT, London (2021); No Place, Columbus (2021); Pressure Club & Fjord, Philadelphia (2021); projects+gallery, St. Louis (2021); and PRACTISE, Chicago (2019). Her work has appeared in publications such as ArtMaze Magazine, Booooooom, and Silver Space. West currently lives and works in St. Louis.