Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5

Valton Tyler
154 Foot Sculpture That Never Was

1971

Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

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." (Reynolds, p. 25) 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) "154 Foot Sculpture That Never Was" is Plate Number 38, 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 writes, “the rectilinear aspects of this plate reflect the care and control with which Valton plans his compositions. He has restricted his design to horizontals and verticals and has simplified the grandiose forms and burnished their surfaces to emphasize the role of each element in the composition. The dark grid lines etched deeply into the aquatint reflect the basic pattern of the design and hold the structures together ‘like supports.’ To contrast with the cold metallic forms Valton added the soft balloon dome on the tower on the right and the mysterious head and face that lies horizontally across the two towers on the left. This face, Valton says, ‘is like a cow. The skin is very pliable and soft. The forms at the top are ice cream cones. The entire sculpture is a dairy or factory where dairy products are processed.’ (Reynolds, p.112) Media: soft ground, aquatint, and line etching on BFK Rives rag paper Paper size: 27 1/2 x 38 1/4 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:
    1971
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 23 in (58.42 cm)Width: 33.75 in (85.73 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Dallas, TX
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: VT-38-011stDibs: LU2572436011

More From This Seller

View All
Music Box
By Valton Tyler
Located in Dallas, TX
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 paintin...
Category

1970s Surrealist Still-life Prints

Materials

Rag Paper, Etching, Aquatint

Music Box
Price Upon Request
A Sculpture Framed by a Print
By Valton Tyler
Located in Dallas, TX
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 painti...
Category

Late 20th Century Surrealist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Rag Paper, Etching, Aquatint

Pillow Machine
By Valton Tyler
Located in Dallas, TX
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 paintin...
Category

1960s Surrealist Abstract Prints

Materials

Rag Paper, Etching, Aquatint

Night Shift
By Valton Tyler
Located in Dallas, TX
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 paintin...
Category

1970s Surrealist Still-life Prints

Materials

Rag Paper, Etching, Aquatint

Whistle
By Valton Tyler
Located in Dallas, TX
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 painti...
Category

1970s Surrealist Still-life Prints

Materials

Rag Paper, Etching

Whistle
Price Upon Request
One Little Stage
By Valton Tyler
Located in Dallas, TX
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 paintin...
Category

1960s Surrealist Abstract Prints

Materials

Rag Paper, Etching

You May Also Like

Venice 4/50 - collectors box with ten black-white etching aquatint prints
By Olivier Julia
Located in Doetinchem, NL
Venezia (Venice) is a unique collectors box for everyone with an interest in contemporary modern minimalist prints. This custom made box contains 10 small etching aquatint prints depicting details of old Venice building...
Category

1980s Minimalist Abstract Prints

Materials

Rag Paper, Etching, Aquatint

Amsterdam 3/50- collectors box with ten black-white etching aquatint prints
By Olivier Julia
Located in Doetinchem, NL
Amsterdam is a unique collectors box for everyone with an interest in contemporary modern minimalist prints. This custom made box contains 10 small etching aquatint prints depicting details of old...
Category

1980s Minimalist Abstract Prints

Materials

Rag Paper, Etching, Aquatint

Amsterdam VII ed 28/50 - museum glass framed black-white aquatint etch print
By Olivier Julia
Located in Doetinchem, NL
Amsterdam VII is an intriguing early career aquatint dry-needle etch print by renowned French-Dutch artist Olivier Julia. It depicts a detail of an old Amsterdam house facade and is ...
Category

1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Rag Paper, Etching, Aquatint

Amsterdam X ed 28/50 - museum glass framed black-white aquatint etch print
By Olivier Julia
Located in Doetinchem, NL
Amsterdam X is an intriguing early career aquatint dry-needle etch print by renowned French-Dutch artist Olivier Julia. It depicts a detail of an old Amsterdam house facade and is bo...
Category

1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Rag Paper, Etching, Aquatint

Amsterdam VIII ed 28/50 - museum glass framed black-white aquatint etch print
By Olivier Julia
Located in Doetinchem, NL
Amsterdam VIII is an intriguing early career aquatint dry-needle etch print by renowned French-Dutch artist Olivier Julia. It depicts a detail of an old Amsterdam house facade is bot...
Category

1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Rag Paper, Etching, Aquatint

Amsterdam IX ed 28/50 - museum glass framed black-white aquatint etch print
By Olivier Julia
Located in Doetinchem, NL
Amsterdam IX is an intriguing early career aquatint dry-needle etch print by renowned French-Dutch artist Olivier Julia. It depicts a detail of an old Amsterdam house facade is both ...
Category

1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Rag Paper, Etching, Aquatint