Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1455237
D allas, Aspen, Vail, Houston … and Round Top. So goes the natural order of progression for Te x a s - f o u n d e d Christopher Martin Gallery. Fresh from opening his newest art spaces in Houston and Vail, Martin pitches camp in Round Top at The Halles, presenting Texas photographer Steve Wrubel. We caught up with the respected photog between jaunts on the open road, with Wrubel sharing notes on the making of his latest images across the summer of '21. His "Wild West Series" shows concurrently at The Halles in Round Top (March 19 – April 2) and at Christopher Martin Gallery Houston (March 3 - 31). CA: Your images come together in two parts: photographing the riders on bronc or bull, then separate backdrops digitally inserted. Steve Wrubel: Driving the American West is part of photographing rodeo. Tires on the road. Driving from rodeo to rodeo through some of the most beautiful land in the world. I always have my camera in the passenger seat, ready to capture landscapes and dynamic cloud formations, which I sometimes use for the backgrounds in my art. The drive is all part of it. I can't imagine flying from state to state and town to town rather than driving every mile — looking, smelling, feeling, and touching the land and sky that is the American West. Your quest for rodeos. SW: I started shooting rodeos in the summer of 2019. The day I shot my first rodeo at Mesquite, Texas, I sold my city car and bought a Ford pickup truck, and in 2 1/2 years, I've put 90,000 miles on it. Named it Angus; it looks like a big Black Angus bull. Once I started looking for rodeos, it was clear that my map was about to expand to include every bit of America west of the Mississippi. Driving that land from state to state … allows me to feel a tiny bit of what the cowboys feel as they drive from city to city looking for those belt buckles. I think that's an important part of understanding the look and feel of the culture I am striving to capture. BUCKIN' BRONCS WITH TIRES ON THE ROAD, STEVE WRUBEL'S TIMELESS AMERICAN WEST PHOTOGRAPHY CASTS RODEO RIDERS AS MAVERICK HEROES. CHRISTOPHER MARTIN GALLERY IS HOME ON THE RANGE AT THE HALLES IN ROUND TOP. BY CATHERINE D. ANSPON IN THE LENS The artist's self-portrait, 2020 Steve Wrubel's Cole, 2021 ALL IMAGES COURTESY THE ARTIST AND CHRISTOPHER MARTIN GALLERY 124