Beards, Horses, and Hollow Mountains: Nat Meade Paints the Myth of the American Man
A bushy beard and a stoic stare might look timeless, but in Nat Meade’s paintings, these symbols of manhood get a fresh twist. Drawing from the wild tales of Pacific Northwest loggers and the psychedelic colors of West Coast art, Meade’s canvases layer myth and memory into dense, vivid scenes. His latest works, now larger than ever, fill the space with not just solitary men but entire groups—riders and their horses, all traversing landscapes that feel both familiar and dreamlike.
Hidden in these scenes are recurring faces: sometimes a wise guru carved into a mountain, sometimes a figure peering back with quiet vulnerability. Yet, these guides often turn out to be hollow—literally stone-faced, empty vessels for our hopes. Through scraped surfaces and shimmering colors, Meade reveals the contradictions at the heart of American masculinity: strong on the outside, searching on the inside. In his world, every myth is up for reinterpretation, and every hero might just be looking for answers of his own.
#ContemporaryArt #Masculinity #AmericanMyth #Culture
