{"id":368998,"date":"2026-04-08T05:03:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T05:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/368998\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T05:03:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T05:03:14","slug":"nic-to-showcase-decade-of-work-by-prolific-casper-artist-zachary-pullen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/368998\/","title":{"rendered":"NIC to showcase decade of work by prolific Casper artist Zachary Pullen"},"content":{"rendered":"

THANKS TO OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS<\/p>\n

CASPER, Wyo. \u2013\u2013 Roughly 160 works of art of various sizes leaned up against the walls at the Nicolaysen Art Museum\u2019s vast gallery space last week.<\/p>\n

Casper artist Zachary Pullen paced through the space after spending hours the previous day arranging and rearranging the pieces with museum curator Amanda Yonker, who was tasked with finding order in the dozens of works brought in from private collections, businesses and other galleries for the upcoming show.<\/p>\n

\"\"Nicolaysen Art Museum curator Amanda Yonker cleans some of the frames before hanging the Zachary Pullen show recently. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City News)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe [order] has been moved about seven times so far, just figuring out how to separate it,\u201d said Yonker. \u201cI mean, he\u2019s so prolific in his work.\u201d The artworks include illustrations for books, as well as representations from famous movies, athletes, events such as the solar eclipse, local personalities and some pointed political commentary, among many other themes. \u201cWe set the political wall over there, because it\u2019s important to keep all that together,\u201d she said. \u201cIt makes the most sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

The title for Pullen\u2019s upcoming show, \u201cLate Nights and Long Summers: Artwork of Zachary Pullen,\u201d gives a hint of how the in-demand artist pulls off that productivity. \u201cIt\u2019s what I try to do every year,\u201d he said. \u201cI work really hard from around October to May, and then try to take summers off and spread them out as much as I can.\u201d He admitted that being holed up in his central Casper studio during this unusually warm winter made that a bit more challenging. \u201cIt was tough to work and look outside and realize, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s 63 degrees,’\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The show covers the past 11 years of Pullen\u2019s career, starting off from where his first large NIC show ended. That one covered the early stages of his career starting off in New York City before moving back home to Casper, while this period was all created here. \u201cI still work with clients from all over the place, but I also do a lot here now, which is really fun,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The show, likely the largest Pullen has done, started coming together last year, and was initially planned to be a bit smaller. \u201cThey were like, \u2018Eleven years, you couldn\u2019t have done that much,’\u201d he said. \u201cThen we started talking about the volume of work and it ended up being this, which is really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"A commissioned piece shows, clockwise from bottom, former Wyoming Govs. Dave Freudenthal, Mike Sullivan and Matt Mead as well as current Gov. Mark Gordon fly-fishing together. The four gathered at the same time to model for the piece, Pullen said. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City News)<\/p>\n

The work encompasses commissioned and personal projects, including a series of imagined scenes from some of his favorite movies, ranging from slapstick comedies like \u201cDumb and Dumber\u201d to cinematic masterpieces such as \u201cAll The President\u2019s Men\u201d and \u201cGodfather II.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI started with \u2018Happy Gilmore\u2019 and \u2018Caddyshack,\u2019 and now it\u2019s expanded,\u201d he said. \u201cThe latest one I finished is \u2018The Goonies.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the thing with this series, because it could go on and on,\u201d he continued. \u201cI sit down and try to think of my top 10 favorites, and I can\u2019t do it. As soon as you think of one, it makes you think of another.\u201d <\/p>\n

His obsession with golf and the sport\u2019s generations of players gets its own vast section on the walls. Many of the small portraits he\u2019s completed were being carefully laid out on tables like a colorful and expressive puzzle before being placed on the walls. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe golfers are going to be floor to ceiling,\u201d Yonker said. How exactly they\u2019re arranged is pretty much done by feel, experience and emotion. \u201cWhen it looks good, I just know,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

When Pullen completes a commissioned work, it often vanishes into homes and private collections. Getting them all together in Casper has been a significant part of the challenge. Every work is digitally captured and kept on file at Pullen\u2019s studio. He created a spreadsheet with the selected works for this show, and then went about finding the pieces. A couple of pieces are expected to arrive from Texas shortly before the show opens this weekend.<\/p>\n

\"\"Artist Zachary Pullen talks with curator Amanda Yonker while preparing his show at the Nicolaysen Art Museum recently. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City News)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little stressful waiting for the last ones to arrive,\u201d said Yonker. \u201cEven just getting these down here [from his studio] was stressful. I just made trip after trip in my car.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the massive mural he\u2019s currently working on for Casper\u2019s first Cheba Hut sub shop<\/a>, which will require multiple hands and some maneuvering to transport from his studio to its permanent home. It\u2019s the first time in the company\u2019s history that it has allowed a franchisee to go outside its usual roster of artists in favor of a local creator, Pullen said.<\/p>\n

The finished mural, which depicts Wyoming people, symbols and creatures in a whimsical stoner setting, will be unveiled at the restaurant\u2019s grand opening this summer. For this show, a wall has been dedicated to display sketches and notes leading up to the final mural\u2019s design. <\/p>\n

A busy artist like Pullen doesn\u2019t have time to look back at his work too often. Gathering 11 years of work can bring mixed emotions when he lays eyes on them again. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo much of my stuff is on deadline, and I\u2019m only given a certain amount of time so I can\u2019t endlessly tweak something; it just has to get out the door,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll see it and go, \u2018Oh, I could\u2019ve done this or that\u2019 all the time, but there are certain things that come back and I think, \u2018Oh man, that\u2019s way better than I thought.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLate Nights and Long Summers: Artwork of Zachary Pullen\u201d will have its opening reception on Friday, April 10, 2026, at the Nicolaysen Art Museum, located at 400 E. Collins Drive starting at 5:30 p.m. Admission is $10 per person and $20 for families. Members of the NIC get in free. <\/p>\n

The reception features talks with the artist, live music by John May and refreshments. The show is presented with help from True Legacy and Jonah Bank of Wyoming, with general support provided by Wold Foundation, Natrona County Collective Health Trust, Wyoming Arts Council and Wyoming Community Foundation.<\/p>\n

\"\"Zachary Pullen looks over part of his series of golf portraits while arranging work for his exhibit at the NIC. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City News)<\/p>\n

\"\"(Dan Cepeda, Oil City News)<\/p>\n

\"\"(Dan Cepeda, Oil City News)<\/p>\n

\"\"A collection of political commentary will be hung together on a movable wall. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City News)<\/p>\n

\"\"Artist Zachary Pullen looks across the room with Nicolaysen Art Museum curator Amanda Yonker and executive director Allison Maluchnik during preparation for his show recently. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City News)<\/p>\n

\"\"Part of an ongoing series of movie favorites is seen lined up before hanging. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City News)<\/p>\n

\"\"A painting Zachary Pullen made for the 2017 Solar Eclipse Festival is seen at left as he talks with curator Amanda Yonker and director Allison Maluchnik during preparation for his upcoming show at the Nicolaysen Art Museum. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City News)<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THANKS TO OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS CASPER, Wyo. \u2013\u2013 Roughly 160 works of art of various sizes leaned up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368999,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,156,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-368998","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}