New Patterns, 2020
David B. Smith Gallery, Denver, CO.
David B. Smith Gallery is proud to announce New Patterns, a solo exhibitionby Oakland, CA-based artist Anna Valdez. Featuring large-scale oil paintingsand brightly patterned ceramic vessels, new life is breathed into the arthistorical tradition of the still life, where the mundane and exotic coalesce intomoments of joy, discovery, and inspiration.
Through both staged and chance arrangements in her studio, Valdez createsa sense of intimacy with viewers, set to the backdrop of her vast collection ofornate textiles and lush potted plants. Various objects in her paintings act asboth personal symbol and chance captured moment, offering a playfulglimpse into the physical and psychological spaces of the artist’s studio.Autobiography innately plays a role in works, as Valdez, a once aspiringsociocultural anthropologist, is keenly aware of the potential for narrative thatemerges from artifacts and environment.
Bounding with color, traveling in and out of spaces real and imagined, theinteriority of the domestic sphere meets the outside world via window sceneswithin the compositions. Patterns and habits, formed by lives being reroutedby hurdles and desires alike, offer us opportunities to reassess andre-envision our reality. Visually alluding to repetition, as colorful ceramicspresented in the exhibition are also carefully worked into paintings, Valdeztraces the viewer’s gaze through her studio, over textural arrangements of personal possessions, and then beyond thearchitecture of the room itself. In New Patterns, Anna Valdez harnesses her curiosity and affection for her personal spacewhile allowing for the potential of discovery beyond the walls of the familiar; alternating between two and three dimensionalworks, embellishing as necessary, imagining potential beyond what is immediately available.
About David B. Smith GalleryDavid B. Smith Gallery is committed to presenting intelligent and culturally relevant exhibitions in its Denver location, featuringthe region’s most important emerging talent alongside internationally recognized artists. Through its curatorial program,participation in art fairs, and extensive media coverage in publications such as Art in America and ARTnews, David B. SmithGallery has cultivated a strong regional, national and international collector audience. The New York Times hailed the galleryas offering "an exciting contrast of cutting edge works” and The Denver Post declared that it is the “premiere commercial space”in Denver. The gallery also maintains an active publishing division, which produces exhibition catalogues and editions.
