Amanda Valdez: Wet Kiss

Expanding on the techniques characterizing her previous presentations, the new works conjoin quilting, embroidery, and oil stick – among other materials and processes – to realize meditative abstractions enriched with contrasting depths and textures. Through her distinctive process, Valdez transforms her materials into an exploration of memory, emotion, and the unseen forces that shape our inner worlds.

In the works on view, Valdez brings together painting and textile art techniques to create abstract compositions exuding a palpably haptic, bodily quality. Their tactility is partially due to her materials, which include embroidery, hand-dyed fabric, and oil stick. The softness and warmth of these materials contrast with sections of frenetic and colorful oil stick – an index of the artist’s hand at work. Furthermore, despite their nonfigurative nature, the compositions feel corporeal, grounded by a gravitational pull toward the bottom edge of the painting.

Many of the works feature shapes that originally emerged over the past year on post-it note drawings intended for Valdez's son's lunch box. Each post-it features curved shapes and lines, abstracted images that fold back on themselves. Intrigued by this form, Valdez recognized the potential to use this new daily practice as a launching point for the larger, more intricate paintings exhibited here.

In developing the compositions, Valdez carefully selects materials to inhabit different parts of the forms. The long, thin, iterative embroidered threads that span across certain sections of the compositions reflect a slow process of accumulation, much like the frenetic oil stick strokes. In contrast, softer fabric areas serve as calm, grounding elements. The pace and rhythm of gesture plays a crucial role for Valdez, finding balance between the gradual accumulation of lines and more staccato marks.

 Wet Kiss brims with compositions that can trigger an experience of pareidolia in viewers, where Valdez's ambiguous forms may evoke familiar objects such as figures or botanical elements. This liminal viewing experience reflects the transitional spaces within the shapes themselves. For instance, many works feature a looping gesture that intrudes on a larger shape. The section inside the loop is often embroidered, while the encircling shape features oil stick or quilted fabrics. These embroidered loops pose questions about interiority and exteriority, blurring the distinction between what is inside the larger whole and what lies beyond it. Valdez invites viewers to immerse themselves within an affective, psychic space conjured by the compositions.

The exhibition’s vibrant palette mirrors that of the natural world, ranging from glowing dark hues to serene pastels that mirror transitions in light from night to day. For example, night glow garden features off-black, pea green, and greyish blue applications of oil stick pierced with a vibrant, glowing red, while the pinks and yellows of golden & ripe evoke the color scheme of an overripe fruit dripping at sunset. These titles suggest a personal and introspective rumination on emotion and memory made concrete through Valdez’s interactions of color, texture, and form.

Similar to her previous shows, Wild Child and The Deep Way, Wet Kiss is inspired by Valdez’s son. It recalls a simple, tender moment: during one quiet moment after a hectic day, while laying down, her son planted a big, wet kiss on her forehead. The title’s intimate tone ricochets across the works in the show. However, the title also carries a more provocative undertone, resonating with the sensuality reflected in the shapes and abstractions presented by Valdez. Just as the title evokes multiple meanings, the artworks themselves are deeply rooted in the impact of disparate elements coming together – a fusion of diverse forms, colors, textures, and materials. This cohesion underscores the essence of Valdez's vision, where individual components unite to create a harmonious and impactful whole, much like the unifying gesture of a wet kiss on a tired forehead.