inaugural ARTIST
Will Cotton
Will Cotton gained inspiration for his exhibition Will Cotton: Marfa while staying at the Brite House in August 2021. To hone his understanding of the skills, sportsmanship, and rituals of raunch culture, Cotton ventured to the nearby town of Alpine to attend and document the Big Bend Ranch Rodeo. Using tools such as a machine to spin his staple pink cotton candy and a camera (with collaborating photographer Tina Hejtmanek) to capture the breathtaking Chihuahuan Desert skyscape, Cotton transforms his experiences in far West Texas into a Western fairytale that is both fictitious and shockingly realistic.
“This was my first time visiting Marfa, and I will say there's no place I've been to that's like it. The sight lines are vast and there’s a palpable celestial architecture that inundates the landscape like a tub filling up with water. The Brite House is situated on the edge of town and feels deeply connected to the miles of ranch land and history beyond. With Yvonne’s help I was able to find the real working ranch hands I’d been searching for as subject matter for a series of paintings I’m doing of Cowboys and Unicorns. This is a fantastic place to work, to devote yourself fully to your craft and immerse yourself in a welcoming community and infinite horizons that you can't help but feel inspired by.”
Will Cotton, Artist
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Cotton will present an exhibition at the Brite House in May 2022, coinciding with the third edition of the Marfa Invitational.
The exhibition will be open to the public from May 5-8 from 11-5 pm.
From May 8th through September 2022 the exhibition will be viewable by appointment.
Images by Makenzie Goodman
Images by Christina Hejtmanek
About Will Cotton
Will Cotton was born in Melrose, Massachusetts and raised in New Paltz, New York. He has a BFA from Cooper Union, and lives in New York City. His work often explores themes of desire, insatiability, and most recently the relationship between a cowboy and a pink unicorn. His paintings are in the permanent collections of the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; Seattle Art Museum, Washington; Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio; and Orlando Museum of Art, Florida, as well as many prominent private collections. Cotton served as the artistic director of the California Gurls music video for pop singer Katy Perry. Cotton is the subject of a monograph published by Rizzoli, USA.