Cowboys: Jerome Coffey

Exhibition Dates: December 13, 2024 – January 12, 2025

Opening Reception: December 18, 5 – 8 PM

Location: Locals Only Gallery, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St, Boulder, CO 80302

Cowboys have long been romanticized in American culture. In the late 1950s and 60s, TV and movie Westerns epitomized the myths of American independence, grit, and the frontier. Popular shows like Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Bonanza, and Have Gun Will Travel captured the imaginations of Americans on a weekly basis, while films such as True Grit and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly further glorified the American West. Against the backdrop of social upheaval in the second half of the 20th century, this media fueled nostalgia for an idealized, rugged American past. At the same time, America’s pop art movement was flourishing. Visionary artists like Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, Jasper Johns, and Edward Ruscha transformed everyday consumer objects and advertisements into high art, challenging conventional perceptions of artistic value.

Jerome Coffey’s COWBOYS exhibition explores the dynamic collision of two iconic American cultural moments: the romanticized cowboy and the vibrant, bold aesthetic of pop art. Reflecting on the predominantly white-centric portrayal of cowboys in American media, Jerome’s COWBOYS series integrates portraits of cowboys from BIPOC backgrounds, celebrating the true diverse tapestry of the American West. These works honor the contributions of communities who have long been part of the cowboy legacy but were often underrepresented or excluded from mainstream narratives.

Experience COWBOYS at The Dairy Arts Center, where Jerome Coffey bridges the symbolic imagery of the cowboy with the energy of pop art, inviting viewers to reconsider the myths and multifaceted realities of American identity.