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

Valton Tyler
Birth Then?

1970

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

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) “Birth Then?” is Plate Number 30, and is illustrated 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, "Unlike the artist's usual fantasies, devoid of human content, which we try to enter and relate to, the imagery in "Birth Then?" and "Journey," (Plate No. 31), is Valton's most personal expression, symbolizing man and his psychological environment. The symbolism is clearly legible, and its reading is intentional. "Birth Then?" and its sequel, "Journey," not only reveal the story of the artist's emotional life but can be seen to stand as his statement on 'la condition humaine.'" "In Plate 30 the large and rather iconic figure on the left symbolizes the artist's mother. She stands towering over the fragile figure of her son together with the globe representing the child's private world. A string tied at the mother's back symbolizes conflicting motives - her domination, the inability to release her hold on her son - as well as the child's emotions from which he tries to free himself." (Reynolds, p. 96) Line etching on BFK Rives rag paper Paper size: 21 3/4 x 23 1/2 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: 17.75 in (45.09 cm)Width: 19.5 in (49.53 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Dallas, TX
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: VT-30-011stDibs: LU2572000723

More From This Seller

View All
Joy
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

20th Century Surrealist Abstract Prints

Materials

Etching

Joy
Price Upon Request
Journey
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 Figurative Prints

Materials

Rag Paper, Etching

Journey
Price Upon Request
Just Pure Honest Fun
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

Tippicanoe and Tyler Too
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

Etching

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

Rear Section of B
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

Etching, Aquatint

You May Also Like

Union
By Tony Bass
Located in Paonia, CO
Union IV is one of a series of original etching by American artist Tony Bass. Two abstract figures seem to be reaching for each other one on the left being pulled back but tryin...
Category

20th Century Abstract Abstract Prints

Materials

Etching

D.N.A.
By Roman Sustov
Located in Palm Springs, CA
An ex libris print featuring an elaborate structurewith figures at work on creation. Roman Sustov's prints often provide a fantastic blend of classic technique combined with images from the vast worlds of surrealism, eroticism, fantasy and fairy tales. Signed in pencil artists proof from the edition of 100. Roman Sustov was born in 1977 in Minsk, Belarus. In 1995 he graduated from Minsk Art College and six years later he graduated from the Belarusian Academy of Arts (Department of Graphic). Through this long training he has become a master in etching, lithography and linocut prints. His works can be found in collections in the USA, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine, Japan, Russia and Belarus, and in the Contemporary Fine Art Museum (Minsk, Belarus). Roman notes...
Category

Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

original lithograph
By Jorge Camacho
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. Printed in 1979 and published in Barcelona by La Poligrafa in an edition of 1000. Size: 10 x 7 1/2 inches (255 x 188 mm). Not signed.
Category

1970s Surrealist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Untitled
By Jorge Castillo
Located in Barcelona, BARCELONA
the painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate
Category

1970s Abstract Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

1968 'L'imagination Prend Le Pouvoir'
By Pierre Alechinsky
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This rare original poster by Pierre Alechinsky is a powerful artistic and historical document from the May 1968 Paris student protests. Printed on billboard paper using a home press,...
Category

1960s Contemporary Prints and Multiples

Materials

Offset

UNTITLED
By Ynez Johnston
Located in Portland, ME
Johnston, Ynez. UNTITLED. Etching, not dated (but likely 1950s). Edition of 20, signed in pencil and numbered 4/20. 6 7/8 x 9 inches (plate), 8 x 10 5/8 inches (sheet). In excellent ...
Category

1950s Abstract Prints

Materials

Etching