Strand Gallery
October 14 - November 19, 2017
Opening Reception Saturday, October 14, 2017
6:00 – 9:00 PM
Artist talk at 6:30 PM
Giovanni Valderas
TRADECRAFT
Giovanni Valderas pulls from his culture, history, and origins to produce three-dimensional mixed-media works that address the tattered relationships with his Guatemalan, Mexican, and American ancestry. His recent work addresses issues with gentrification in Spanish speaking communities and incorporates frayed elements of the piñata. Through the use of idioms incorporated into piñata forms, Valderas transforms these objects associated with celebration to highlight an alternate identity of the decay of traditional structures. Installed guerilla style alongside commercial real estate development signs in Dallas-Fort Worth, Valderas’ piñata start a conversation about the rapid gentrification of communities and juxtaposes their messages of power and influence.
The exhibition’s title piece, TRADECRAFT, consists of an installation of fourteen 48 inch letters, spelling the phrase “QUIÉN LOS PARARÀ.” At first glance the phrase’s potentially pejorative meaning, which translates to “Who will stop them,” is subverted into a message of empowerment for Spanish speakers. QUIÉN LOS PARARÀ is intended to co-opt words of fear and transcend them into a positive message for the culturally marginalized. The installation appropriates the piñata form in an effort to transform its original identity in popular culture from one of mere birthday celebrations, to one of a cultural construct in an attempt to decipher the complex history between US and Latin America. Through this work, Valderas aims to engage viewers and provoke a sense of empathy.
A native of Dallas, M. Giovanni Valderas is the Assistant Gallery Director at Kirk Hopper Fine Art. He also was appointed by Dallas City Council as Vice Chair of the Cultural Affairs Commission, under Mayor Mike Rawlings. Previously he was the Gallery Director at Mountain View College. Valderas graduated from the College of Visual Arts & Design at the University of North Texas with a Master of Fine Arts in Drawing & Painting. He has taught Mural Painting, Beginning and Intermediate Figure Drawing at the University of North Texas as well as Foundation Drawing and Art Appreciation at Richland and Mountain View College. He is a former member of 500x gallery, one of the oldest co-op galleries in Texas. His work has been featured in the 2013 Texas Biennial, New American Paintings Magazine, issues #108 and #132, and Impossible Geometries: Curated works by Lauren Haynes at Field Projects in New York City.