My name is Vincent Valdez and I welcome you to the exhibition, Just a Dream… This exhibition marks a defining moment in my life and career, 25 years of work seen together for the very first time. Throughout these past two decades, I have worked extremely hard to develop a visual language entirely my own, unique and recognizable in palette, technique, scale, and subject matter. I have often approached this work as a testament to the world outside my studio doors and that as a means of putting it all down on record. I worked very closely with the curators of this exhibition to select specific works that are recognized as anchors throughout my career. But, more importantly than just being a greatest hits collection, I consider these works to represent the framework that has structured and guided my ongoing pursuits to tell a much larger story that continues to unfold in my studio and in my mind. Take notice, throughout the years, as my palette shifted, as my scale and ambitions grew, as my craft and my discipline have matured over time, what remains consistent and unwavering is my love and my commitment to telling stories about people, for people.
Hello! My name is Patricia Restrepo. I am a Curator at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and the co-curator of Vincent Valdez: Just A Dream.... Welcome to Vincent’s debut survey exhibition. You have the opportunity to explore 25 years of his powerful practice through over 100 paintings, drawings, sculptures, videos, sketchbooks, and newly commissioned works.
This exhibition marks the first time that we have devoted the entire museum to a single artist, demonstrating our institution's commitment to Vincent’s singular talent and urgent message.
Just A Dream… reflects Vincent’s lifelong mission to unearth, reveal, and memorialize bodies and stories that we, as a society, might otherwise overlook. With his meticulous attention to detail and innovative compositions, Vincent prompts us to bear witness to his figures’ vulnerability, beauty, and ultimately their humanity. His works create a bridge between the past and the present, inviting us to reflect on this nation’s complex and challenging histories so that we can build more just futures.
We hope you enjoy listening to our Museum’s first bilingual audio guide, where you will hear from Vincent, as well as numerous activists, scholars, and community members. These voices share their lenses and lived experiences to offer new entry points into Vincent’s practice. The audio guide extends Vincent’s artistic goal of excavating undertold stories, in turn igniting conversation and public remembrance.
I’d now like to introduce you to my co-curator, Denise Markonish.
This is Denise Markonish, Chief Curator of MASS MoCA and co-curator of Vincent Valdez: Just a Dream... Welcome to this exhibition where you will see over two decades of Vincent’s work, cementing his place as one of the premier painters, imaging what is so beautiful and complex about the United States of America. Vincent’s work unflinchingly corrects erasures, those of time, history, and people. For him, this is an act of love for those whose stories need to be told, and a recognition of the tyranny of hate and injustice that plagues society. The ways in which Vincent layers history is both personal and universal, and recalls writer, James Baldwin's declaration that “American history is longer, larger, more various, beautiful and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.” Vincent’s work tackles these ideas head on, which is evident in his exhibition that unfolds like chapters in a book. This guide and the multiple voices within ask you to see yourself in the narratives of these paintings and to imagine the stories you will also tell.
And I am Marcelina Guerrero, CAMH Exhibitions and Publications Manager, and I will be leading you through this audio guide today.
