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Valton Tyler
Whistle

1971

About the Item

In The New York Times Arts in America column, Edward M. Gomez writes 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) “Whistle” is plate number 54, 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, “With this last plate, Valton returns to the smaller designs he began with and to the humorous flavor he feels all of his work is based on. He has beautifully combined many of the lessons he feels he has learned in the past works: setting forms in their own landscape; attaining the subtle but rich tonal values through line etching; creating a movement across the surfaces and in the air with patterns of floating particles; developing forms with heavier bases, but retaining a lightness by contrasting these with this characteristic spindly forms which rise gracefully into the air. What Valton derives the greatest personal satisfaction from in this plate is the manner in which he feels he has based his design on the depiction of sound. For the artist, the design embodies the word, the instrument, and the sound of the title, “Whistle.” The beauty of this final plate is enhanced by the nostalgic inclusion of elements such as the flag, which was his early signature, and the flower. He leaves us with the beauty of his bitter-sweet empathy with design and form." (Reynolds, p. 144) Media: line etching on BFK Rives rag paper Paper size: 17 x 14 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. This print is unframed. The price does not include a frame.
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