Now showing / Permanent collection / 2013–2026

Maximus

The Dog. A retrospective in three rooms and twenty works.

Max, a white dog with dark freckles on one ear, gazing upward in low light — Cover — Nocturne in White

Some subjects need lighting, styling, a set. This one needs a couch, a coastline, and a reason to look at you like that.

Room I

Out There

Shorelines, low tide, a lake dock and one dusty trail. Max outdoors is a figure in a landscape — small, white, entirely in charge.

Featured work

Low Tide, Last Light

Medium: Beach at dusk, one dog for scale
Collection: Private collection

The smallest Max in the collection and maybe the grandest. The sun sits on the horizon, the sand holds every tire track, and somewhere in the middle a white dot goes about his business.

Max far down an empty beach while the photographer's shadow stretches across the sand — Two Figures, One ShadowThe photographer appears only as a shadow.

Max walking on the beach under a deep blue sky, tongue out — The StrideTongue out, mid-step, no plans.

Max standing in shallow ocean water with his reflection below him — WadingKnee-deep, tail up, reflected.

Max standing on wet sand facing the camera, ears blown by wind — Wind StudyEars negotiating with the breeze.

Max and a black dog standing together on a dock looking out over a lake — Dock, with AssociateA quiet meeting at the water.

Max on a dry desert trail between rocky hills — Desert Trail, UnbotheredArizona, uphill, his pace.

Room II

Interiors

The couch years. Red upholstery, borrowed pillows, a laundry machine he was never invited into. Here the subject reclines, and reclining is the point.

Featured work

Repose on Crimson

Medium: Dog on red upholstery
Collection: Private collection

A study in total surrender. Every limb is assigned a different direction; none of them is in a hurry. Critics have compared it to Baroque reclining figures. The subject has declined to comment and appears to be asleep.

Max lying on a red couch in a room with green walls, looking at the camera — Green Room, Red CouchThe pose of someone who owns the couch.

Max peeking out from under a pillow on a red couch — Under the PillowHiding, technically.

Max upside down on a quilt wearing a red bandana, teeth showing — Inversion with BandanaGravity, ignored.

Max resting his head on a couch cushion with a red bandana, eyes half closed — Late AfternoonThe eyelids are losing.

Max wrapped in a blanket like a hood, sitting on a couch — The BurritoWrapped, unimpressed.

Max sitting inside a front-loading washing machine looking out — Spin Cycle (Declined)He got in. Nobody asked.

Room III

Portraits

Close range. The nose, the freckled ear, the look. These are the works most often cited when a snack is under negotiation.

Featured work

Study from Below, with Bandana

Medium: Phone camera, ceiling, one red bandana
Collection: Private collection

Shot from the floor at the exact moment the subject decided the photographer was the one being studied. Note the composed jaw and the faint suggestion of tongue. The thumb in the lower corner is original to the work and has been retained.

Close portrait of Max in a dark room, white fur glowing, eyes turned up — Nocturne in WhitePhone flash, darkness, sincerity.

Extreme close-up of Max's nose and open mouth — The ApproachCloser than requested.

Max grinning widely with eyes squeezed shut while being scratched — Unrestrained JoyMouth open, eyes squeezed shut.

Max lying beside a bed with a relaxed open-mouth smile — Contentment, BedsideA smile with nowhere to be.

Max sitting upright on a gray rug against a wood-panel wall — Seated Figure, Wood PanelFormal. Briefly.

The Subject

About Max

Maximus — Max to friends, which is everyone — is a white dog of considerable dignity and very little shame. Thirteen years into his career, he works mainly in eye contact, couch occupation, beach patrol and strategic sighing.

Known as: Max
Active: 2013 – present
Coat: White, freckled at the ear
Signature: The tongue, slightly out
Preferred venues: The red couch, any beach
Accessories: One red bandana
Admission: Free. Treats encouraged.

The gallery is open whenever someone is home.

maximusthedog.com