Biography
Luke Anderson is a self-taught landscape painter and mixed media artist originally from Wyoming and working out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Anderson's surfaces combine elements of abstraction and graphic design along with the more painterly styles often associated with traditional western and landscape painting. Iconic western subjects like mountains, deserts, clouds, and sunsets are reduced to flattened, abstract, two-dimensional shapes. Drawing inspiration from early-20th-century modernist painting, minimalist abstract painting, and other media such as printmaking and digital graphic design, Anderson's canvases feature jagged shapes, hard edges, and soft, neutral color palettes with a subtle antique quality. Strong senses of spatial depth and atmospheric perspective are common visual themes. His work has been exhibited at prominent regional art institutions, including the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Coors Western Art Show in Denver, Colorado, the Springville Museum of Art in Springville, Utah, the Sears Art Museum at Utah Tech University in St. George, Utah, the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper, Wyoming and the Old West Museum in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He has been featured in the pages of well-known western art magazines and publications, including Western Art Collector, Southwest Art Magazine, Western Art and Architecture, and Big Sky Journal. Anderson is represented by galleries in Jackson, Wyoming, Basalt, Colorado, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Artist Statement
The vast valleys, deep canyons, towering mountains, and the omnipresent sense of expanse and grandeur in the landscapes and skies that surround me in Utah and the surrounding states are the primary inspiration for my work, from the peaks of the Rocky Mountains to the deserts of the Colorado Plateau and Great Basin. The foundation of my work is in realism, with the core principle being the illusion of a real visual sensory experience with nature. Over time, I have increasingly introduced elements of abstraction, minimalism, and simplification that are inspired by my love for abstract and non-objective painting. I ask myself with each painting: what is the bare minimum amount of information I need to communicate the essence of the landscape? As a result, my works have gotten increasingly simplified and abstract, with an emphasis on texture, color fields, and surface quality. I am interested in the physical relationship between the earth and atmosphere and how they interact and influence each other visually. I often feature stark horizons and emphasize the elements of depth, space, and atmospheric perspective in my work.
I try to let the painting dictate its own path, not sticking too closely to a preconceived plan and allow for unforeseen changes and opportunities to guide the process. I have a very tactile response to art and am generally drawn more to the physical texture and perceived feeling of touch than to the actual image itself. I have always had an affinity for antiques and old things made from high quality materials that stand up through heavy use over time and that become more beautiful as they age–things like wood, leather, iron, copper, masonry and so forth. I love old photographs and newspapers and their aged yellow and brown hues. I like to desaturate the colors in my paintings and give them some surface distressing and a warm patina finish that imitates the elegant feeling of an aged Polaroid photograph.
Recent Shows and/or Exhibitions
Gallery at the National Western Club (affiliate show to Coors Western Art Show), Denver, Colorado December 2019-January 2020
AVA Art Center, “Art Matters,” juried group show/auction, Gillette, Wyoming, January 2020
Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum Western Spirit Art Show, Cheyenne, Wyoming, March-April 2020
New Western Talent, Western Gallery, online juried exhibition, May 2020
Nicolaysen Art Museum, Casper, Wyoming, Bash & Ball Art Auction, August-September 2020
Springville Museum of Art, Springville, Utah, 96th Annual Salon, October 2020-January 2021
Coors Western Art Show, Denver, Colorado, December 2020-January 2021
Springville Museum of Art, Springville, Utah, 97th Annual Salon, April-July 2021
Western Gallery, The Colour and the Shape, duo show with Taylor Crisp, September-October 2021
Coors Western Art Show, Denver, Colorado, December 2021-January 2022
Springville Museum of Art, Springville, Utah, 98th Annual Salon, April-July 2022
Meyer Gallery, Park City, Utah, Solo Show, July 2022
Brinton Museum, Big Horn, Wyoming, Brinton 101 Small Works Show, November 2022
Coors Western Art Show, Denver, Colorado, January 2023
Arts Council of Big Sky, Big Sky, Montana, Auction for the Arts, March 2023
Springville Museum of Art, Springville, Utah, 99th Annual Salon, April-July 2023
Gallery Wild, Jackson, Wyoming, “Elemental” duo showcase with Aaron Hazel, May 2023
Supersonic Art, “Supersonic Horizons” online group show, August 2023
Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana, Quest for the West, September 2023
Contemporary Realism Now, curated group show, Gallery 1261, Denver, Colorado, January 2024
Gallery Wild, Jackson, Wyoming, “Visions of the Neo-West” duo showcase with Christy Stallop, June 2024
Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana, Quest for the West, September 2024
Forsey’s Interior Design, Salt Lake City, Utah, group show, October 2024
Salt Lake Community College, 2024 President’s Juried Art Show, October-November 2024
Brinton Museum, Big Horn, Wyoming, Brinton 101 Small Works Show, November-December 2024
Sears Art Museum, St. George, Utah, 38th Annual Sears Invitational Art Show, February 2025
Gallery Wild, Santa Fe, New Mexico, “Of Sand and Stone” duo showcase with Richard Burke, March 2025
Art 321, Casper, Wyoming, “Secret Garden Gala” art sale, April 2025
Gallery Wild, Jackson, Wyoming, “Arcs and Angles” duo showcase with Taryn Boals, May 2025
Hyper Contemporary, “Revival” online group show, July 2025
Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana, Quest for the West, September 2025
Luke Anderson is a self-taught landscape painter and mixed media artist originally from Wyoming and working out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Anderson's surfaces combine elements of abstraction and graphic design along with the more painterly styles often associated with traditional western and landscape painting. Iconic western subjects like mountains, deserts, clouds, and sunsets are reduced to flattened, abstract, two-dimensional shapes. Drawing inspiration from early-20th-century modernist painting, minimalist abstract painting, and other media such as printmaking and digital graphic design, Anderson's canvases feature jagged shapes, hard edges, and soft, neutral color palettes with a subtle antique quality. Strong senses of spatial depth and atmospheric perspective are common visual themes. His work has been exhibited at prominent regional art institutions, including the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Coors Western Art Show in Denver, Colorado, the Springville Museum of Art in Springville, Utah, the Sears Art Museum at Utah Tech University in St. George, Utah, the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper, Wyoming and the Old West Museum in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He has been featured in the pages of well-known western art magazines and publications, including Western Art Collector, Southwest Art Magazine, Western Art and Architecture, and Big Sky Journal. Anderson is represented by galleries in Jackson, Wyoming, Basalt, Colorado, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Artist Statement
The vast valleys, deep canyons, towering mountains, and the omnipresent sense of expanse and grandeur in the landscapes and skies that surround me in Utah and the surrounding states are the primary inspiration for my work, from the peaks of the Rocky Mountains to the deserts of the Colorado Plateau and Great Basin. The foundation of my work is in realism, with the core principle being the illusion of a real visual sensory experience with nature. Over time, I have increasingly introduced elements of abstraction, minimalism, and simplification that are inspired by my love for abstract and non-objective painting. I ask myself with each painting: what is the bare minimum amount of information I need to communicate the essence of the landscape? As a result, my works have gotten increasingly simplified and abstract, with an emphasis on texture, color fields, and surface quality. I am interested in the physical relationship between the earth and atmosphere and how they interact and influence each other visually. I often feature stark horizons and emphasize the elements of depth, space, and atmospheric perspective in my work.
I try to let the painting dictate its own path, not sticking too closely to a preconceived plan and allow for unforeseen changes and opportunities to guide the process. I have a very tactile response to art and am generally drawn more to the physical texture and perceived feeling of touch than to the actual image itself. I have always had an affinity for antiques and old things made from high quality materials that stand up through heavy use over time and that become more beautiful as they age–things like wood, leather, iron, copper, masonry and so forth. I love old photographs and newspapers and their aged yellow and brown hues. I like to desaturate the colors in my paintings and give them some surface distressing and a warm patina finish that imitates the elegant feeling of an aged Polaroid photograph.
Recent Shows and/or Exhibitions
Gallery at the National Western Club (affiliate show to Coors Western Art Show), Denver, Colorado December 2019-January 2020
AVA Art Center, “Art Matters,” juried group show/auction, Gillette, Wyoming, January 2020
Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum Western Spirit Art Show, Cheyenne, Wyoming, March-April 2020
New Western Talent, Western Gallery, online juried exhibition, May 2020
Nicolaysen Art Museum, Casper, Wyoming, Bash & Ball Art Auction, August-September 2020
Springville Museum of Art, Springville, Utah, 96th Annual Salon, October 2020-January 2021
Coors Western Art Show, Denver, Colorado, December 2020-January 2021
Springville Museum of Art, Springville, Utah, 97th Annual Salon, April-July 2021
Western Gallery, The Colour and the Shape, duo show with Taylor Crisp, September-October 2021
Coors Western Art Show, Denver, Colorado, December 2021-January 2022
Springville Museum of Art, Springville, Utah, 98th Annual Salon, April-July 2022
Meyer Gallery, Park City, Utah, Solo Show, July 2022
Brinton Museum, Big Horn, Wyoming, Brinton 101 Small Works Show, November 2022
Coors Western Art Show, Denver, Colorado, January 2023
Arts Council of Big Sky, Big Sky, Montana, Auction for the Arts, March 2023
Springville Museum of Art, Springville, Utah, 99th Annual Salon, April-July 2023
Gallery Wild, Jackson, Wyoming, “Elemental” duo showcase with Aaron Hazel, May 2023
Supersonic Art, “Supersonic Horizons” online group show, August 2023
Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana, Quest for the West, September 2023
Contemporary Realism Now, curated group show, Gallery 1261, Denver, Colorado, January 2024
Gallery Wild, Jackson, Wyoming, “Visions of the Neo-West” duo showcase with Christy Stallop, June 2024
Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana, Quest for the West, September 2024
Forsey’s Interior Design, Salt Lake City, Utah, group show, October 2024
Salt Lake Community College, 2024 President’s Juried Art Show, October-November 2024
Brinton Museum, Big Horn, Wyoming, Brinton 101 Small Works Show, November-December 2024
Sears Art Museum, St. George, Utah, 38th Annual Sears Invitational Art Show, February 2025
Gallery Wild, Santa Fe, New Mexico, “Of Sand and Stone” duo showcase with Richard Burke, March 2025
Art 321, Casper, Wyoming, “Secret Garden Gala” art sale, April 2025
Gallery Wild, Jackson, Wyoming, “Arcs and Angles” duo showcase with Taryn Boals, May 2025
Hyper Contemporary, “Revival” online group show, July 2025
Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana, Quest for the West, September 2025