Vincent Valdez: In Memory

by Vincent Valdez, Denise Markonish, Rufus Wainwright, Roberto Tejada

The first monograph on Valdez's epic painterly tales of injustice and inequity in contemporary AmericaHouston-based artist Vincent Valdez (born 1977) blends large, representational paintings—the scale of which recall Western traditions of history painting as well as mural painting and cinema—with contemporary subject matter. Vincent Valdez: In Memory is the first book-length study of his work, focusing on subjects that explore his observations and experience of life in the 21st century. The results are powerful images of American identity that confront injustice and inequity while imbuing his subjects with empathy and humanity. Valdez states, "My aim is to incite public remembrance and to impede distorted realities that I witness, like the social amnesia that surrounds us all." Recognized for his monumental portrayal of the contemporary figure, his drawn and painted subjects remark on a universal struggle within various sociopolitical arenas and eras.