The Unexpected Wreck 2017

Mark Maggiori made this painting of the unexpected wreck, and it's a scene that's all about movement, painted with a real sense of action, the brushstrokes almost mimicking the frantic energy of the moment. Look at how Maggiori uses the paint, the way it's thick in some places, giving real texture to the horses' manes and the dust they're kicking up, then thin in others, almost transparent, especially in the distant mountains. It’s like he's not just painting what he sees, but also the feeling of being there, in that dusty, chaotic moment. I’m drawn to the way the painter captures light, look at how it hits the white horse. This piece echoes the old masters of the American West, but with a modern sensibility. It's a conversation across time, with artists like Frederic Remington or Charles Marion Russell. It embraces the ambiguity of the West. It's all about the interpretation of a landscape, a lifestyle, and a moment in time.