“Valdez stood out for his skillfully-crafted, labor-intensive figurative painting that explores the under-represented plights and stories of marginalized communities across Texas and a so-called “post-racial” America. Profoundly informed by his own experiences and personal biography, Valdez’s works are alternatingly confrontational, sublime, and eerie in their realism and clarity, urging viewers to look more closely and think more deeply about contemporary life and the history of the United States.”

Vincent Valdez is recognized for his monumental portray of the contemporary figure. His drawn and painted subjects remark on a universal struggle within various socio-political arenas and eras. Valdez was born in 1977 in San Antonio, Texas. He received a full scholarship to study at the Rhode Island School of Design, and earned his BFA in 2000. Valdez is represented by David Shelton Gallery and Matthew Brown Los Angeles. He is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant for Painters and Sculptors (2016), as well as residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting (2005), the Vermont Studio Center (2011) and the Kunstlerhaus Bethania Berlin Residency (2014). Exhibitions and Collections include: The Ford Foundation, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, MassMoCA, The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, The Smithsonian Museum of American Art, and The National Portrait Gallery, among others.

Vincent Valdez is the recipient of the 2019 Houston Artadia Award.