Mary Valverde: Parables

In our attempt to learn, we revisit, retrace and repeat lessons until they become intrinsic gestures; our lives are a constant replaying of these lessons. We surround ourselves with materials that remind us of them, materials often charged with the residue of our intentions and the remnants of our actions. Through Parables, Valverde creates installations reminiscent of sacred spaces and material offerings. The works propose relationships between the forms, marks and measurements that intend to diagram the visceral.

Valverde’s work is driven by creative research. It is the chronicling, indexing and archiving of patterns to examine the ways in which they empower space, the body and the psyche. Valverde is interested in the systemic arrangements of objects, sounds and textures as manifested through the experience of music, materials and memories both within the individual and society.

Biography

Mary A. Valverde (b. 1975, Queens, New York) is an interdisciplinary artist and professor based in New York. Valverde received her MFA at the University of Pennsylvania in 2012 and her BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 1999. Valverde is currently the 2014 Thomas Hunter Ceramics Artist in Residence. Valvarde has also participated in residencies at the Artist Alliance (2007), and the Aljira Center for Contemporary Art’s Emerge Program (2006). She has exhibited her work at The New Jersey State Museum, El Museo del Barrio, The Queens Museum of Art, Momenta Gallery, Saltworks Gallery, Corridor Gallery, Rush Arts Gallery, Diaspora Vibe Gallery, Bronx River Arts, Abrons Art Center, Cuchifritos Gallery, Tribes Gallery, among others. Valverde has also contributed to various projects through the BASE collective and Couturemonials.