Vincent Valdez
John, 2010
Serigraph, Ed. 85
20”x26”

This portrait memorializes the artist’s childhood best friend, John Robert Holt Jr. (May 1978-December 2009) who served two tours in Iraq as a combat medic. John suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder following his discharge and committed suicide in December of 2009. The red tint in the soldier’s eyes stands out against the greytones in the subject’s face and uniform, which, combined with his distressed facial expression, show the affliction and hurt that led to the soldier’s unfortunate death.

Vincent Valdez is most recognized for his monumental portrayal of the contemporary figure. His drawn and painted subjects remark on a universal struggle within various socio-political arenas and eras. “My aim is to incite public remembrance and to impede distorted realities that I witness, like the social amnesia that surrounds me,” states Valdez.

Exhibitions and collections include Ford Foundation, New York, NY; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Smithsonian Museum of American Art and National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC; among others.Valdez was born in 1977 in San Antonio, TX. He received a full scholarship to the Rhode Island School of Design, earning his BFA in 2000. A recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant for Painters and Sculptors (2016), as well as residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting (2005), the Vermont Studio Center (2011) and the Kunstlerhaus Bethania Berlin Residency (2014) and Joan Mitchell Center (2018), Valdez currently lives and works in Houston.