J Valenzuela Didi
Artworks
Bio
CV
Exhibitions & Artfairs
News & Press
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
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
The Quiet Life
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.
Upon Reflections & Ballad of the Daily Pilgrimage
Join Tracy Dods & J Valenzuela Didi in a showcase of their latest work.
Newsletter #185
September 29, 2022
We are excited to share new work by REBECCA PIERCE for her upcoming solo exhibition opening October 14th 'And Yet Again' 61 x 45cm acrylic paint and ink, oil sticks and charcoal on canvas $ 1,200.00
September 25, 2022
'Seems Like a Good Idea at the Time' by DEAN REILLY "Much of our early colonial history is riddled with absurdity. Explorers doomed for failure through bad planning miscommunication and a disconnect and discomfort with the landscape. Like a fish out of water or a naked white man on a chartreuse camel, the new can sometimes appear bizarre." - Dean Reilly 'Seems Like a Good Idea at the Time' 40.5 x 51cm, 43.5 x 54cm framed acrylic on canvas $ 1,400.00
September 24, 2022
"The great gold rush has never really ended it has just become corporatized, legalised, monopolised, justified and naturalised. Fly into the heart of Australia and you will see men in uniform moving about in airports, to go and dig up the earth to provide security and pleasure for their families." - DEAN REILLY Gold 1, 2 and 3 on display and available now
September 24, 2022
'Gone Fishing' new work by Miranda Summers. This work is 20 x 20cm oil on canvas $ 640.00 with free packing and shipping Australia wide. For overseas shipping, please contact the gallery. This work is available to purchase now but is still drying and will be ready for collection or delivery early October 2022.
September 23, 2022
"In Australia, space and place stage stories torn between absurdity and beauty, the knowable and unknowable, and the sublime" - DEAN REILLY 'There is so Much to See Here Study' 20 x 25cm, 23 x 28cm framed acrylic on canvas on board $ 350.00 with free packing and shipping Australia wide.
September 23, 2022
'Banksia Fringe' 61.5 x 61.5cm oil on canvas $ 1,450.00 by MIRANDA SUMMERS. This work is available to purchase now but is still drying and will be ready for collection or delivery early October 2022.
September 22, 2022
"I have come to learn that the landscape is represented by my internalised feelings drawn from experience and memories within the landscape and my landscape is littered with heroes, villains, myths and legends grounded in story." - DEAN REILLY Solo Exhibition on now until 30 September You can browse and buy works online via our website and view the exhibition page and catalogue. Or please feel free to contact the gallery team with any questions or enquiries.
September 22, 2022
"Black swan theory suggests that the black swan is a metaphor that describes an event that comes as a complete surprise. One can only wonder how early Northern hemisphere explorers would have perceived and reacted to seeing the first black swans." - DEAN REILLY 'Odette Study' 20 x 25cm, 23 x 28cm framed acrylic on canvas on board $ 350.00 Free packing and shipping Australia wide
September 21, 2022
Dreaming of sunny Sydney days with MIRANDA SUMMERS new works inspired by scenes of Sydney ! 'Pink Pocket in Time' 20 x 20cm oil on canvas $640.00
September 21, 2022
DEAN REILLY'S 'Past Present Future' 51 x 40.5cm, 54 x 43.5cm framedacrylic on canvas $ 1,400.00 "The past, present, and future is governed and informed by our feelings towards the landscape you are in. Whether you see it as majestic natural wilderness, a wild mongrel scrub to be developed or sacred country, is up to you. However, mostly it is inherited through the stories we hear and the experiences we have that form our views of the landscape and ultimately the world." - Dean
September 20, 2022
DEAN REILLY'S Solo Exhibition 'The Landscape is Beyond Me' is on now until September 30th. "In Australia, space and place stage stories torn between absurdity and beauty, the knowable and unknowable, and the sublime. My experience towards landscape comes from my internal feelings and experiences of country through observation, study, and from the dreams I had as a little boy growing up on the land. Landscape can be viewed as a majestic natural garden, a wild mongrel scrub or sacred country, for me however, landscape represents a strange combination, torn between the heroic and the absurd. I think it is the absolute hopelessness of the situation that we can find joy, connection and hope in the landscape that is beyond me." - DEAN REILLY #birdpainting