Starting February 14th, the George Adams Gallery will present a survey of drawings by James Valerio. The exhibition will include 12 black and white pencil drawings made between 1996 and 2001. This is the first exhibition to focus exclusively on Valerio's works on paper.
James Valerio has been showing regularly in New York since the 1983 and is best known for his large-scale figurative and still-life paintings. Although he is considered a consummate draftsman, Valerio has devoted himself almost entirely to painting, rarely completing more than four drawings in a single year. This changed in 1999 when Valerio decided to turn his attention exclusively to drawing. James Valerio: Drawings 1996 - 2001 includes a selection of seven drawings made over the past two years supplemented by five additional works made between 1996 and 1998.
The exhibition consists entirely of "finished" drawings - there are no studies or sketches - ranging in size from 12 x 10 inches up to 40 x 28 inches. Included are three self-portraits, four still-life drawings, one portrait, two landscapes and three drawings from the figure. While all the images derive from photographs Valerio shoots himself, the finished drawings are the result of a compilation of photographic images (rather than a single image projection) as well as sketched studies made from life. Several works required numerous studies or elaborate preparations; for example Self-portrait (Hands), 2000 required photographs from four different angles as well as several detail drawings from life, while for Foxglove, 2000 Valerio made a series of photographic studies of the still-life lit by a flashlight in order to capture not only the subject, but the atmospheric darkness around it as well.
The exhibition, which originated at the Greenville Country Museum of Art in South Carolina last summer, has been enhanced by new drawings and by loans from collectors and institutions. A fully illustrated catalogue with an introduction by George Adams and commentaries by the artist on many of the drawings will document the show.
Exhibition Checklist
1. Self-portrait (Hands), 2000
pencil on paper
37 5/8 x 28 3/4 ins
JVd 36
2. Lillies at Night, 2000
pencil on paper
33 1/2 x 28 5/8 inches
JVd 41
3. Feet, 2000
pencil on paper
28 5/8 x 25 inches
JVd 40
4. Foxglove, 2000
pencil on paper
33 x 28 3/4 inches
JVd 42
5. Nude Back, 2000
pencil on paper
28 9/16 x 40 3/16 inches
JVd 43
6. Lions Woods, Des Plaines, Illinois, 2000
pencil on paper
28 3/4 x 35 3/4"
JVd 35
7. Des Plaines Landscape, 2000
pencil on paper
28 1/4 x 37 1/2 inches
JVd 34
8. Doughnuts, 1999
pencil on paper
28 11/16 x 40"
JVd 32
9. Towel, 1996
pencil on paper
23 x 29 inches
JVd 26
10. Crouched Nude, 1998
pencil on paper
29x23 ins
JVd 31
11. Ed, 1996
pencil on paper
26 x 21 1/2 inches
JVd 24
12. Self-portrait, 2000
pencil on paper
12 x 10 inches
JVd 39
13. Self Portrait, 1998
pencil on paper
24 3/4 x 21 13/16 inches
JVd 30
14. Self Portrait at Window, 1997
pencil on museum board
29 x 23 inches
JVd 29
