Skip to content
subscribe
Account
SEARCH

Categories

LASTEST

De Wain Valentine Retells His History at David Zwirner Gallery

No contributor

De Wain Valentine is on view for a final week at David Zwirner Gallery in New York. The American minimalist sculptor is best known for his translucent glass, fiberglass, and cast polyester resin sculptures from the 1960s and 70s. The exhibition focuses on Valentine’s work with polyester resin and showcases the artist’s range and virtuosity. At the opening in June, Valentine spoke of growing up in Colorado and making the move to California in the mid-60s. “I grew up loving horses,” he said. “When I was a kid…I discovered drawing horses was very difficult, at least for me. I was in the city public library and I saw these old volumes hanging on the shelf and I picked one up and looked through it. There were beautiful drawings by Rubin, gorgeous nudes and I said, ‘To hell with horses!’”

The exhibition displays Valentine’s “columns” and “circles” sculptures. Both series encompass his experimentation with scale, color, and shape. Of his childhood in Fort Collins, Colorado, he said, “I grew up around my uncles, looking at how wonderful rocks were and that’s where I got the idea to work with resin and rocks.” Also influenced by the California landscape, Valentine was very interested in how light was reflected on the surface of his sculptures. The reflections appeared like pieces of the sky and ocean.

When the artist moved to California in the sixties, he met limitations with what he could achieve in the medium. Originally, the scale of poly-resin sculptures were restricted to 50 pounds. With Valentine’s determination, though, he managed to create towering sculptures, examples of which are in the Zwirner show. The gallery also produced a fully illustrated catalogue of Valentine’s work published for the exhibition.

SAME AS TODAY

FURTHER READING

The View at The Palm Opens in Dubai with Human-Centric Purpose

Whitewall spoke with John Bricker of Gensler about The View at The Palm in Dubai.

Louis Fratino Finds Power in Images of What We Love

Louis Fratino spoke with Whitewall about keeping the studio a space free from fear of failure.

The BMW Neue Klasse Looks to an All-Electric Future

The BMW Neue Klasse is a statement piece for a new era: design language that references classic BMW for its soon-to-be all-electric lineup.

How KOZO’s Practice Remains Rooted in Emotion, History, and Storytelling

Whitewall spoke with the artist and tattoo professional, KOZO, about his life in the art world and what he's working on next.

SUBSCRIBE TO MAGAZINE

Kelly Wearstler

THE WINTER EXPERIENCE ISSUE
2023

Subscribe

SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER

Go inside the worlds of Art, Fashion, Design and Lifestyle.

READ THIS NEXT

Whitewall spoke with the artist and tattoo professional, KOZO, about his life in the art world and what he's working on next.

SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER

Go inside the worlds
of Art, Fashion, Design,
and Lifestyle.