2024 solo-show

2023 NAACP COMMISSION

The Story behind the Paintings:

“Maxwell Alexander Gallery is happy to announce a special collaboration between New Mexican modernist, Kim Wiggins, and the Dayton Unit NAACP. The historic organization approached Maxwell Alexander Gallery in search of Kim Wiggins over a year ago with a project to depict historical scenes of Black America. The NAACP wanted Wiggins’ unique vision and painting style to stand out amongst so many great artists that have come before. Notable artists that have been commissioned by the NAACP in years passed include: Frank Morrison, Ernie Burns, Kadir Nelson, Kehinde Wiley, and Amy Sherald.

Wiggins has created four large scale works, each with a different time period expressed through vivid colors and imaginative visions that are synonymous with the artists paintings. The four newly completed paintings will be unveiled at the Dayton Art Institute's "Reflections in Time" event June 17th in Dayton, Ohio. These historic scenes will then tour the country and eventually become part of the of the organization’s permanent collection.

If you are in the Dayton Ohio area we encourage you to visit the Dayton Art Institute for the unveiling. Kim Wiggins and Maxwell Alexander Gallery will be in attendance.

Congratulations to Kim Wiggins and the National Association for the Advancement for Colored People on this monumental project.” Beau Alexander, Los Angeles, CA.

Juneteenth Unveiling - The Dayton Art Institute:

Celebrate Juneteenth weekend at The Dayton Art Institute. The weekend celebration will feature the unveiling of four outstanding, historical paintings by nationally renowned New Mexican Modernist, Kim Douglas Wiggins. These four compelling works of art were commissioned by the Dayton Unit NAACP to celebrate various aspects of Black history. The unveiling will take place at The Dayton Art Institute on June 17, 2023. Festivities will include a presentation by the artist centered on the artwork from 3-4 PM.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

2022 BRISCOE MUSEUM

The Story behind the Painting:

Last Tally at Bosque Redondo - 1867, Oil, 40 x 60.

The birth of the truly great American cattle drives began in August of 1866. This was the second drive to New Mexico Territory for Goodnight and Loving but the most noted by historians of the West due to the massive size of the herd. Some three thousand head of longhorns where heading to New Mexico Territory of which one thousand belonged to Chisum and two thousand belonged to Goodnight and Loving. Chisum secured a contract to supply some ten thousand head of cattle to the military over the next year to feed some eight thousand Navajo and soldiers at the Bosque Redondo Indian Reservation in New Mexico Territory. This cattle drive represented the first delivery of beef. One of the unique aspects to the 1866-67 cattle drive was the fact that this was the only cattle drive the three cattle kings (Chisum, Goodnight and Loving) would make together. After wintering in dugouts along the bluffs of the Pecos River, by the Spring of 1867 the cattle drive finally reached the delivery destination. Last Tally on the Bosque Redondo – 1867, depicts the final tally Chisum made as the longhorns slowly crossed the Pecos River about four miles below the Bosque Redondo Indian Reservation. In the distance El Capitan Mountain can be seen. This massive landmark had been their iconic guide over the last one hundred miles. In the painting John Chisum holds his tally book making careful notation as to the final tally of beef, after months of being on the desolate trail. Chisum had secured the contract with Stadtahr & Company of New York but now the beef had to be totaled up before delivery to the reservation. Stadtahr’s agent, James Patterson, would meet with them the next morning to secure the herd for the military. Chisum, Goodnight and Loving were to receive $28,000 for the eventual delivery of ten thousand head of longhorns. Believe it or not, Stadtahr and Company went broke before the cattlemen were fully paid.

2020 Autry Museum

The Story behind the Painting:

Fleeing Hell’s Fury - Range Fire, Oil on Linen, 48 x 60.

“This painting portrays a panic stricken band of cowboys and longhorns beneath the drama of a massive range fire. It speaks volumes to the timeless struggle of mankind against the sheer overwhelming force and power of nature. The Goodnight/Loving Trail Series began a in 2011 when I was commissioned by the Roswell Museum and Art Center to paint a major historical work focused on the Goodnight/Loving Trail. The next year, Cattle Kings of the Pecos, Oil, 72 x 96, was installed in the museum’s permanent collection. Within the research on Charles Goodnight, Oliver Loving and John Chisum I found incredible inspiration allowing me to pursue a series based on the first massive cattle drives in American history. These historically inspired paintings are among my most complex work requiring months of research, design and effort. My latest addition,  Fleeing Hell’s Fury - Range Fire, focuses on large, compelling figures rather than landscape. It is a powerful, confrontational image engaging the viewer on many levels. Key aspects of the painting are symbolic and focus on the influence of the three major icons of Western art (Charles M. Russell, Frederick Remington and W. R. Leigh) and their impact on today’s Contemporary Western artists. Within any culture the greatest works of art speak to or even symbolize the struggles and heartbeat of that society. In these works of art the message can be as important as the image. America has been a beacon of hope around the world especially since WWII with the Greatest Generation's many sacrifices. In my mind the cowboy represents the very soul of the American spirit conveying a message that we can overcome any adversity... even in the face of unsurmountable odds.”

Below is a quote from Wiggins’ presentation at the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, California, on February, 8, 2020:

“There is a shift taking place in Western art today. Some might call it a movement, others a resurgence, others a momentum toward modernism that is moving beyond traditional Western realism. This doesn't mean it will replace Western realism. It's simply a momentum swing as seen in the pendulum of a clock. For art is like a rollercoaster, like life, ever changing, ever moving up-and-down as artists attempt to reach the next generation through innovation in the arts. We see something of great beauty today, as exciting young artist of the same mind and heart move toward the forefront of Western art. They are a blend of both realism and modernism… the things that I have fought for for most of my career. To me, the important thing is the fact that the pendulum is swinging. For those of you who have been around the Masters show, as long as I have, trust me when I say, the shift has been dramatic, especially as you compare the award winners of the past with the award winners of today. In my opinion, this is necessary. For if we are to reach a new generation we must continue moving forward. We must learn communicate in a language this new generation understands. They live in a fast paced, edgy, experimental, new world. Color saturated images move before their eyes as fast as they can scroll across the screen of their phone. Believe me when I say, a new voice is needed to draw them in to Western art, to bring them in the doors of a museum, to pique their interest in the Western heritage of our past. This is the New West I’m speak on today!”

Kim Wiggins’ presentation on The New West delivered at the Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA, February 8, 2020.

The Goodnight/Loving trail series