Valton Tyler
Together We Are
1970

About the Item

In The New York Times Arts in America column, Edward M. Gomez wrote of Valton Tyler, "visionary seems the right word for describing his vivid, unusual and technically refined paintings, prints and drawings, whose style defies convenient labels. Abstract, surreal, cartoonish, sci-fi fantastic, metaphysical, apocalyptic-Baroque - all of these fit but also fall short of fully describing his art." (The Living Arts, June 13, 2000, p. B2) Valton Tyler was born in 1944 in Texas, where "the industrial world of oil refineries made a long-lasting impression on Valton as a very young child living in Texas City. He was three years old when the terrible explosion occurred there and can remember the terrifying confusion and 'the beautiful red sky and objects flying everywhere in the air.'" (Reynolds, p. 25) While growing up in Texas City, Valton's father worked in auto repair, and was known for his skill in mixing colors for paint jobs. After leaving Texas City, Valton made his way to Dallas, where he briefly enrolled at the Dallas Art Institute, but found it to be too social and commercial for his taste. After Valton's work was introduced to Donald Vogel (founder of Valley House Gallery), "Vogel arranged for Tyler to use the printmaking facilities in the art department of the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where the young artist essentially taught himself several demanding printmaking techniques. 'It was remarkable,' Vogel says. 'Not only did he learn complicated etching methods, but he was able to express himself powerfully in whatever medium he explored.' Vogel became the publisher of Tyler's prints. Among them, the artist made editions of some 50 different images whose sometimes stringy abstract forms and more solid, architecturally arresting elements became the precursors of his later, mature style." (Gomez, Raw Vision #35, p. 36) “Together We Are” is plate number 27, and is reproduced in "The First Fifty Prints: Valton Tyler" with text by Rebecca Reynolds, published for Valley House Gallery by Southern Methodist University Press, Dallas, Texas, 1972. In “The First Fifty Prints,” Reynolds wrote, "If we study 'Together We Are" in the light of the three preceding plates, we see that Valton's concentration on the ability of line to model form and on form to be both sculptural and architectural has reached an unprecedented peak in this plate. His preliminary exploration of the convoluted canopy first seen in 'One Little Stage' evolved into the imposing organic forms of 'Heritage.' With the tremendous breakthrough of working on such a large scale in 'Heritage,' Valton challenged himself to achieve greater perfection in the modeling and texturing of surfaces; but in 'Together We Are' he achieves a richness in tactile qualities that perhaps in the entire body of his work he has never again equaled. The interdependent organisms whose bodies coil around one another across the top of the design, as well as every column and structure, seem to pump with life as the heavily etched lines mesh together or swirl in never-ending Celtic patterns across the surfaces. The eye feels the actual relief of the lines that create a scaly roughness around each structure and form." (Reynolds, p. 90) Paper size: 27 x 39 inches Edition: 5 Artists Proofs Imp. 50 Signed Prints Imp. Bibliography: Edward M. Gomez, "Futuristic Forms Frolic Under Eerie Texan Skies," The New York Times, June 13, 2000, page B2. Edward M. Gomez, "Valton Tyler's Techno-Organic Landscapes," Raw Vision 35, Summer 2001, pages 34-39. Rebecca Reynolds, "The First Fifty Prints: Valton Tyler," published for Valley House Gallery by Southern Methodist University Press, Dallas, Texas, 1972.

Creator:
Valton Tyler (1944, American)
Creation Year:
1970
Dimensions:
Height: 24 in (60.96 cm)Width: 35.5 in (90.17 cm)
Medium:
Rag Paper,Etching
Movement & Style:
Outsider Art
Period:
1960-1969
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Dallas, TX
Reference Number:
Seller: VT-27-01v1stDibs: LU257464892
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