Artist: J. Parker Valentine
Exhibition title: The Bony Orbit
Venue: Wschód, Warsaw, Poland
Date: June 19 – July 31, 2021
Photography: Courtesy the artist and Wschód, Warsaw
Wschód is pleased to present The Bony Orbit, an exhibition of works of the Los Angeles-based artist J. Parker Valentine.
John Baldessari said that when looking at two things, we ought not look pre-cisely at them, but between them, as it is that space that is very important. Exactly that thought emerges in my mind when observing J. Parker Valentine’s works – uncanny and sharp drawings, collages and sculptures, which simulta-neously convey a strong feeling of intimacy.
The inventive diversity of the artist’s oeuvre is grounded in a drawing-orient-ed narration – it forms the base for Valentine, creating endless possibilities for blending abstraction and narrative, handmade and found materials, and experimenting with tone and texture. While carving, editing, ripping, soaking, drawing, marking, Valentine consistently undermines any su estion of pre-dictability. The works are irregular, dense, compelling, sometimes full of holes or unusually shaped paper forms. It is precisely that intensity and disparate rhythm that creates a portal – a dynamic entry to a multitude of references – movement, spatiality, and a notion of gravity….The systematic repetition of figures, shapes and forms brings out the choreographic motion in the space, however concrete images seem to have vanished or blend into this inscru-table fluid state of becoming. Circulating through the Valentine’s works one can achieve a state of balance experiencing the chaotic, asymmetrical and predominantly chromatic tonality with discreet touches of colour – it can also point toward the artist’s refined awareness of structure, rhythm, and weight. J. Parker Valentine calls gravity “a glue of our world” and situates it in the centre of the creation process – it is what guides her hand’s movement and activity in gestural strokes layered on unusually shaped materials.
J, Parker Valentine (b. 1980) is an artist based in Los Angeles. Her works have been exhibited at KRIEG, Hasselt (BE); Galerie Max Mayer, Dusseldorf (DE); Barbara Gladstone Gallery, Brussels (BE); The Juan & Patricia Vergez Collection, Buenos Aires (AR); Park View, Los Angeles (USA); Langen Foundation, Neu-(DE); Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit (USA); 1857, Oslo (NO); Misako & Rosen, Tokyo (JP); Peep-Hole, Milan (IT); Artpace, San Antonio (TX); Museo Mari-no Marini, Florence (IT); Contemporary Austin (TX); and Contemporary Art Mu-seum St. Louis (MO), among others.
J. Parker Valentine, The Bony Orbit, Installation view, 2021
J. Parker Valentine, The Bony Orbit, Installation view, 2021
J. Parker Valentine Untitled, 2016, graphite, colored pencil, ink, muslin, copper, thread, clay coated fiberglass, 210 x 3 cm
J. Parker Valentine Untitled, 2016, graphite, colored pencil, ink, muslin, copper, thread, clay coated fiberglass, 210 x 3 cm, detail
J. Parker Valentine, The Bony Orbit, Installation view, 2021
J. Parker Valentine Untitled, 2021 aged canvas, paper, permanent marker, acrylic ink, ballpoint pen, collage 31 x 40 cm
J. Parker Valentine, The Bony Orbit, Installation view, 2021
J. Parker Valentine, The Bony Orbit, Installation view, 2021
J. Parker Valentine Untitled, 2021 paper, yupo, casein paint, ink, graphite, glue, powdered graphite, colored pencil 132 x 133 cm
J. Parker Valentine Untitled, 2021 paper, yupo, casein paint, ink, graphite, glue, powdered graphite, colored pencil 132 x 133 cm, detail
J. Parker Valentine Untitled, 2021 canvas, yupo, casein paint, ink, graphite, glue, powdered graphite, colored pencil 74 x 155 cm
J. Parker Valentine Untitled, 2021 canvas, yupo, casein paint, ink, graphite, glue, powdered graphite, colored pencil 74 x 155 cm, detail
J. Parker Valentine, The Bony Orbit, Installation view, 2021
J. Parker Valentine, The Bony Orbit, Installation view, 2021
J. Parker Valentine Untitled (Fallen Sentence), 2016 cotton, fibreglass, brass, clay, cutch, graphite, ink, felt tip, silk, string 119 x 129 x 25 cm
J. Parker Valentine, The Bony Orbit, Installation view, 2021
J. Parker Valentine Horse, 2021 canvas, texas cedar, colored pencil, graphite 111 x 53 cm
J. Parker Valentine Horse, 2021 canvas, texas cedar, colored pencil, graphite 111 x 53 cm, detail
