Pure Morning in Wyoming 2014

Editor: This is Mark Maggiori's "Pure Morning in Wyoming," painted in 2014 with oil on canvas. It features a cowboy and two horses against a beautiful landscape. The overall feel is serene, but the detail is so crisp that it has a striking realism to it. How would you interpret this work? Curator: The impact, I suggest, resides first and foremost in the organization of forms. Notice the powerful horizontality established by the plains and the cloud formations behind the mountains. Then note how Maggiori cleverly intersects these horizontal zones with the acute verticality of the trees, horses, and cowboy, and with the more oblique angles in the distant mountain range. Editor: So it's all about how the lines intersect, and how the structure gives the impression of serenity? Curator: Precisely. See also how Maggiori’s carefully modulated palette – the blend of verdant greens in the foreground, cerulean blues and crisp whites of the sky, and then earthy umbers in the distant structures – contributes to the reading of balance that structures the artwork's total affect. Note also the position of the cowboy, situated between the two animals, drawing together diverse planes in the image. What might you conclude from this analysis? Editor: It is about a structure built on intersections and contrasts. Thank you, I hadn’t quite appreciated the strategic interplay until now. Curator: You’re most welcome. I found the chance to reconsider how this work communicates on the level of pure form exceptionally helpful as well.