J Valenzuela Didi

Hallowed Ground

$4,950

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b.1977 Kota Kinabalu Malaysia

J Valenzuela Didi was born in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia in 1977. The self-taught Brisbane artist draws on the emergence of patterns and geometric shapes to explore common scenes and signposts of modern life. In his paintings, familiar urban landscapes become haunting and alien reminders of the beauty and character of the present-day.

Artist Statement

“In my artworks, I use urban spaces and commonplace objects to explore the transience of life. In the works I want to show the glorious splendour in everyday life and the melancholy that accompanies the awareness of mortality.

I draw inspiration for my artworks from family photos, life-drawings, road trips and magazine clippings. I manually or digitally collage, manipulate, and rework these sources into fluid scenes. These preliminary sketches are used as references for artworks in paint, a medium that allows me to develop and enrich my original concepts.

Through this methodology I like to draw on the emergence of patterns and geometric shapes. I endeavour to reduce my work to these base elements. Through a method of deconstructing and rebuilding an image I hope to reveal the beautiful and abstract characteristics of commonplace objects.

My Urban Fragments are a series of geometric arrangements that I create as meditative constructs. The shapes are intended to pulsate between two and three dimensions, at once holding a structural form and serenely floating. Each work serves as a silent mantra, an ordered map of the intangible.” – J Valenzuela Didi

‘The Quiet Life’ upcoming solo exhibition of J VALENZUELA DIDI opens 24th of September and features all new works paintings. If you would to request a preview of new pieces to come please DM or contact the gallery team.

Section of J VALENZUELA DIDI’S new painting ‘Cactus Tree Motel 152 x 91cm acrylic on canvas for his solo exhibition ‘The Quiet Life’ Opening 24th of September. If you would like to preview a catalogue please contact the team!

Insitu image of works in the Neutral Bay gallery hung for J VALENZUELA DIDI’S pop up ‘ Feeling Gravity’s Pull’ on now! “When I create images, I want to capture my memories of moments when I felt like an explorer in this distant world, submerged in these alien landscapes. It is in urban scenes; backyards and streets, that I feel the greatest sense of discovery” – J Didi #exhibition

Artist CV

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021 “The Quiet Life”, Traffic Jam Galleries, Neutral Bay
2020 “Ballad of the Daily Pilgrimage”, Traffic Jam Galleries, Neutral Bay
2019 “Symphony on Mars”, Traffic Jam Galleries, Neutral Bay
2018 “Feeling Gravity’s Pull”, Traffic Jam Galleries, Neutral Bay
2018 “Shrine of the lost suburban”, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2017 “Life Below the 27th Parallel”, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2016 “Unfinished Pilgrimage”, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2016 “Stillness in Transit”, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2011 “New Works” Movement Principle Space, Milton

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019 Finalist Hornsby Art Prize
2019 Finalist Clayton UTZ Art Award
2019 Finalist Mosman Art Prize, Mosman NSW
2019 Finalist Kennedy Art Prize
2019 Gallery Finalist Lethbridge 2000 Awards, QL
2019 Gallery Finalist Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular
2019 Finalist Moreton Bay Region Art Awards, QL
2018 Finalist KAAF Art prize,
2018 Finalist Mosman Art Prize, Mosman NSW
2018 Finalist Queensland Regional Art Awards, QL
2018 Stanthorpe Art Award, Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery, Stanthorpe
2018 Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular, Waterfront Place, Brisbane
2018 Moreton Bay Art Award, Strathpine Community Centre, Moreton Bay
2018 Morris Art Prize, The Events Arena, Carrara
2017/18 Clayton Utz Art Award, Riparian Plaza, Brisbane
2017 Brisbane Places and Faces Exhibition, Tattersalls Club & Riverside Centre, Brisbane
2017 Lethbridge 10000, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2017 Moreton Bay Art Award, Strathpine Community Centre, Moreton Bay
2017 Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular, Central Plaza One, Brisbane
2016 Black Swan Prize for Portraiture, Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
2016/17 Clayton UTZ Art Award, Riparian Plaza, Brisbane
2016 Redland Art Award, Redland Art Gallery, Redland City
2016 Brisbane Art Prize, Brisbane
2016 Lethbridge Art Auction, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2016 Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular, Central Plaza One, Brisbane
2016 Lethbridge 10000, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2016 Moreton Bay Art Award, Strathpine Community Centre, Moreton Bay
2015 Gold Coast Art Prize, Gold Coast Art Gallery, Gold Coast
2015 Manning Art Prize, Manning Regional Art Gallery, Taree
2015 Sunshine Coast Art Prize, Caloundra Regional Gallery, Caloundra
2015/16 Clayton Utz Art Award, Riparian Plaza, Brisbane
2015 ‘City Views’ Exhibition, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2015 Border Art Prize, Gold Coast Art Gallery, Gold Coast
2015 Lethbridge 10000, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2015 Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular, Waterfront Place, Brisbane
2015 Moreton Bay Art Award, Strathpine Community Centre, Moreton Bay
2014 Clayton UTZ Art Award, Riparian Plaza, Brisbane
2014 Redland Art Award, Redland Art Gallery, Redland City
2014 Lethbridge 10000, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2014 Moreton Bay Art Award, Strathpine Community Centre, Moreton Bay
2014 QT Ipswich Art Award, Ipswich
2013 Border Art Prize, Gold Coast Art Gallery, Gold Coast
2012 Gold Coast Show, Gold Coast Parklands, Gold Coast
2012 YHES House Art Exhibition, YHES House, Southport
2011/12 Publishers Cup 2011 touring exhibition, various locations
2010/11 Publishers Cup 2010 touring exhibition, various locations
2010 BARI Festival 2010, The Tidy Gallery, Brisbane

AWARDS
2019 Finalist Hornsby Art Prize
2019 Finalist Clayton UTZ Art Award
2019 Finalist Mosman Art Prize, Mosman NSW
2019 Finalist Kennedy Art Prize
2019 Gallery Finalist Lethbridge 2000 Awards, QL
2019 Gallery Finalist Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular
2019 Finalist Moreton Bay Region Art Awards, QL
2018 Finalist KAAF Art prize,
2018 Finalist Mosman Art Prize, Mosman NSW
2018 Finalist Queensland Regional Art Awards, QL
2018, Winner, best acrylic – Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular
2018, Selected Finalist – Stanthorpe Art Prize
2018, Selected Gallery Finalist – Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular
2018, Selected Finalist – Moreton Bay Region Art Awards
2018, Selected Finalist – Morris Art Prize
2017, Selected Finalist – KAAF Art Award
2017, Selected Finalist – Paddington Art Prize
2017, Selected Finalist – Moreton Bay Region Art Awards
2017, Selected Finalist – Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular
2016, Selected Finalist – Black Swan Prize for Portraiture
2016, Selected Finalist – Brisbane Art Prize
2016, Selected Gallery Finalist – Lethbridge 10000
2016, Selected Finalist – Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular
2016, Selected Finalist – Moreton Bay Region Art Awards
2015, Winner, best of show – Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular
2015, Second place prize – Border Art Prize
2015, Selected Finalist – Gold Coast Art Prize
2015, Selected Finalist – Clayton Utz Art Award
2015, Selected Finalist – Manning Art Prize
2015, Selected Finalist – Sunshine Coast Art Prize
2015 Selected Gallery Finalist – Lethbridge 10000
2015, Selected Gallery Finalist – Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular
2015, Selected Finalist – Moreton Bay Region Art Awards
2014, Selected Finalist – Clayton UTZ Art Award
2014, Selected Finalist – Redland Art Awards
2014, Selected Gallery Finalist – Lethbridge 10000
2014, Selected Finalist – Moreton Bay Region Art Awards
2014, Selected Finalist – Cambridge Studio Portrait Award
2012, Featured Emerging Artist – Gold Coast Show
2011, Highly Commended Award – Publishers Cup Art Prize
2011, Selected Finalist – Publishers Cup Art Prize
2010, Selected Finalist – Publishers Cup Art Prize

Visions Of The Dark Night

J Valenzuela Didi

“Night has fallen and all is still. Here in the silence; reality, dreams and memory weave into a haunting spectacle of sensations. And all at once, feelings of joy, fear and melancholy descend. I follow my senses and step into the water (I’ve always been drawn to the water, perhaps an innate connection to my Maldivian heritage). The ocean, with all its grandeur and mystery, brings with it escape, wonder, terror and excitement. For my new exhibition, VISIONS OF THE DARK NIGHT, I have continued my exploration of these moments of divinity, when time and distance fade away. Moments when I have felt like an explorer in a distant world, submerged in an alien landscape.” - J Valenzuela Didi

The Quiet Life

J Valenzuela Didi

I have a folder that I fill with interesting pictures of everyday moments. As I’ve returned to this file over the years, I’ve found that the images have evolved over time. I have altered and displaced the figures in these pictures to echo a transformation. An approach that gives rise to a dreamlike atmosphere where reality, memory and illusion collide.

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J Valenzuela Didi

Crimson and Clover

Solitude

Nightswimming

Visions Of The Dark Night

Lost At Sea

Grievous Angel

Waiting For A Sign

Nothing Has To Be True

Fragmented Meditation 202X

Splitting at the Seams

Me and My Sister

Hallowed Ground

Artist Statement

Artist CV

Visions Of The Dark Night

The Quiet Life