Opening Reception: LOOSE TOOTH

Nicholas Valdés is pleased to present LOOSE TOOTH, an exhibition of new works on canvas at Alpaca, located at 1415 Fourth St. SW Albuquerque, NM

LOOSE TOOTH marks a foundation and a departure, reflecting his shift to painting. Valdés’s process capitalizes on his interest in the chance happenings that occur through cutting and rearranging collage elements with a painted surface. Typically, he uses a small contact print selected for its formal arrangement and geometric qualities as a reference image for creating an underpainting framework. As a young tooth worked loose, the pieces in this show reflect a process of letting the old recede to make way for the new.

Valdés’s background in photography informs the works in LOOSE TOOTH. Similar to the way a photographer frames the messiness of the world into a contained image, these works on canvas organize cut pieces and painterly gestures to form a psycho-scape informed by the constant stimulation that is
contemporary visual experience.