The Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, Texas, has published a podcast conversation with Adrienne Stein, whose solo exhibition 'The Enchanted West of Adrienne Stein' is on view in the museum's main gallery until 7 November 2026. The episode, hosted by the museum's Executive Director Darrell Beauchamp, was recorded after the show's opening weekend.
The exhibition presents Stein's oil paintings alongside works from the museum's permanent collection. In a preview of the show, Beauchamp described it as offering a new way of seeing the American West, and the museum has made a digital catalogue available, with a foreword by Rose Fredrick, editor-in-chief of Western Art & Architecture.
In the interview, Stein traces her route from York, Pennsylvania, to the American West, a path shaped in part by her relationship with her husband, the artist Quang Ho. She recalls how Beauchamp first came across her paintings in Ho's studio, and discusses the comparisons her work has drawn with Georgia O'Keeffe and Agnes Pelton.
Much of the conversation turns to training. Stein describes rigorous early training with her mentor Richard House, followed by studies at Laguna College of Art and Design, where she earned her BFA, and at The Art Students League of New York, before an MFA at Boston University. She also talks about New York and portrait work, and about the question of whether an artist is born or made.
Stein speaks about balancing family life with the production of some 50 paintings for the exhibition, and about family road trips as a source of inspiration. She goes into her materials and palette, and the framing of her work by Brian Smith.
Looking ahead, she mentions a new series titled 'Western Skies' and work for the Briscoe Western Art Museum's Night of Artists. Stein, who lives and works between Pennsylvania and Colorado, is represented by Gallery 1261 in Denver.
The episode closes with her advice to younger painters: work from observation, keep a journal, and paint what you know.
