Billy Schenck

Sometimes a Great Notion

2023

Billy Schenck has been known internationally for 44 years as one of the originators of the contemporary 'Pop' western art movement. He is an American painter who incorporates techniques from Photo-Realism with a Pop Art sensibility to both exalt and poke fun at images of the West. Schenck has had over 100 solo shows. His work is in the permanent collections of 48 museums and important private and corporate collections. Museum collections include the Smithsonian, Mesa Southwest Museum, The Tucson Museum of Art, The Denver Art Museum, Museum of the Southwest, Midland TX, Albuquerque Fine Arts Museum and the New Mexico Museum of Art. Private collections include the estate of Malcolm Forbes, Steve Forbes, Chris Evert, Elaine Horwitch, Louis Meisel, Martina Navratilova, Laurance Rockefeller, Fritz Scholder and Sylvester Stallone. Corporate collections include: American Airlines, I.B.M., Raymond James Financial, Wells Fargo Bank, Hilton Hotels, Sturm Ruger and The National Bank of Switzerland. “What has remained constant throughout Schenck’s career is his individuality in dealing with the subject matter of the west. Using the artistic formula of classic western film direction and the photographically reliant systems of contemporary art, he has bridged two genres that resonate with the American experience. From early depictions of cinematic cowboys to real-life cowboys and cowgirls to poetic reveries about the Native American existence in the Southwest, Schenck melds the real with the imagined, autobiography with fantasy.” -Julie Sasse, Chief Curator and Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Tucson Museum of Art.