Rodrigo Valles Jr

Rodrigo Valles Jr began his career as a visual artist in 2005 after completing his academic training in disciplines far removed from the arts. He is a self taught and prolific painter using mixed media, traditional techniques and a penchant for showcasing his mix of heritage, personal history, and social commentary squarely in front of the viewer. His works are vibrant, visually layered, entertaining but also deeply personal. He has shown across the country in international art fairs, pop up shows and gallery exhibitions from California to Miami to New York. He has amassed a loyal and large following of collectors that also span the globe. As a result his works are increasingly sought after, particularly by new collectors.

Rodrigo’s figurative heroes are references to his youth as a first-generation Mexican American growing up in Texas. They pay tribute to the working class by portraying Mexican pop icons and cultural references in present day settings, often doing everyday things. His paintings are visually saturated, colorful, incorporate catholic imagery and textures that allude to the South, to Latin America and to the places he has lived. The paintings he painstakingly creates reference feelings of pride, uncertainty, celebration, misplacement and triumph. They strike a chord with his viewers. It’s no surprise his figurative works are spoken for quickly.

Rodrigo’s abstracts are homages to the visual layers created by time, use and decay in the urban settings he has called home along the Northeast. As an academic, Rodrigo gained insight into his style when he discovered a 2011 journal article by physicist Richard Taylor of the University of Oregon. The article describes a very simple and eloquent analysis of the fractal patterns created by Jackson Pollock’s most well recognized and valued works and the correlation to the naturally occurring fractal patterns in nature. Indeed, humans recognize and prefer these patterns during everyday existence and in art. Rodrigo proposes that his abstracts are appealing for reasons that are innate, primal and codified into our genetics but through the lens of visual imagery, colors, layers and patterns that are personal to the viewer.

As an added layer of intrigue and insight, Rodrigo repurposes lyrics from hip-hop music as titles for his works. In their new context as artwork titles, they gain new or expanded meaning that convey the thoughts and emotions that are integral to Rodrigo’s paintings.