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De Wain Valentine — Iridescent Skyline
De Wain Valentine — Iridescent Skyline
De Wain Valentine — Iridescent Skyline
De Wain Valentine — Iridescent Skyline
De Wain Valentine — Iridescent Skyline
De Wain Valentine — Iridescent Skyline
De Wain Valentine — Iridescent Skyline
De Wain Valentine — Iridescent Skyline
De Wain Valentine — Iridescent Skyline
De Wain Valentine

Iridescent Skyline

1993

Iridescent Skyline positions itself apart from conventional painting from the moment it meets the wall. Constructed on a canvas stretched over a rigid wood support, the panel is built with a subtle diagonal brace that allows it to project slightly outward, creating a hovering presence that separates the work from its surface. That thin interval of air and shadow behind the piece is not incidental but structural, transforming the wall into an active participant rather than a neutral backdrop. The result is an object that reads simultaneously as painting and sculpture, occupying its own spatial field with quiet but insistent authority. The surface rewards sustained attention. Valentine layers acrylic and collage with glass to produce an iridescent quality that resists fixity, shifting in tone and luminosity as ambient light changes or the viewer moves across it. Color here is not a settled condition but a responsive one, completing itself differently depending on the time of day, the angle of approach, and the particular quality of light in the room. This perceptual dynamism connects the work directly to the Light and Space sensibility with which Valentine is associated, where the act of looking is understood as an integral part of the work rather than a passive reception of it. Completed in 1993 and signed by the artist, Iridescent Skyline is presented without a frame, a deliberate choice that reinforces its identity as a whole object rather than an image enclosed within borders. At 30.5 by 61 centimetres, the work is compact in scale yet generous in effect, demonstrating Valentine's sustained ability to compress expansive perceptual concerns into a single, self-possessed form. It is offered through Taylor Graham.

Medium
Acrylic and collage with glass on canvas stretched over wood
Overall
Signed
Yes

For Sale — $7500

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About this work

De Wain Valentine, Iridescent Skyline, 1993

Iridescent Skyline positions itself apart from conventional painting from the moment it meets the wall. Constructed on a canvas stretched over a rigid wood support, the panel is built with a subtle diagonal brace that allows it to project slightly outward, creating a hovering presence that separates the work from its surface. That thin interval of air and shadow behind the piece is not incidental but structural, transforming the wall into an active participant rather than a neutral backdrop. The result is an object that reads simultaneously as painting and sculpture, occupying its own spatial field with quiet but insistent authority. The surface rewards sustained attention. Valentine layers acrylic and collage with glass to produce an iridescent quality that resists fixity, shifting in tone and luminosity as ambient light changes or the viewer moves across it. Color here is not a settled condition but a responsive one, completing itself differently depending on the time of day, the angle of approach, and the particular quality of light in the room. This perceptual dynamism connects the work directly to the Light and Space sensibility with which Valentine is associated, where the act of looking is understood as an integral part of the work rather than a passive reception of it. Completed in 1993 and signed by the artist, Iridescent Skyline is presented without a frame, a deliberate choice that reinforces its identity as a whole object rather than an image enclosed within borders. At 30.5 by 61 centimetres, the work is compact in scale yet generous in effect, demonstrating Valentine's sustained ability to compress expansive perceptual concerns into a single, self-possessed form. It is offered through Taylor Graham.

Medium
Acrylic and collage with glass on canvas stretched over wood
Dimensions
overall: 30.5 x 61 cm
Year
1993
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
Taylor | Graham

More works by De Wain Valentine

Collected by

Derek Jones