Valerie Hird: The Garden of Absolute Truths Gallery Guide

GALLERY

INTRODUCTION

Vermont-based and nationally acclaimed artist Valerie Hird explores the connections between cultures and their environment as a meditation on the ambiguities of our contemporary world. In her first solo exhibition at the BCA Center, Hird presents a provocative visual exploration of humanity’s shared myths. The artist envisions a fantastical garden where untamed and uncivilized nature becomes a metaphor for the pressures weighing on societal systems.

Through a diverse vocabulary of colorful patterns and iconic symbols gathered and reimagined, Hird explores personal and collective identity – weaving together social, cultural, and political themes in a range of media. In this selection of new and recent work, Hird moves forward and backward across time and memory as she reflects on the illusion, disruption, and disarray within contemporary society. The Garden of Absolute Truths features large-scale paintings, animated video, and three-dimensional sculpture commissioned specifically for the exhibition.

— Heather Ferrell, Curator and Director of Exhibitions

FLIGHT, 2020 watercolor 22 x 44 x 1.25"

ALICE’S HOUSE, 2020*

wood, gears, screws, foam core, watercolor on Arches paper, ink, printed matter on rice paper, Optimum Plexiglas, electrical wire, LEDs, batteries, magnets 28 x 12 x 6 ½"

TRANSITION, 2020*

wood, gears, screws, foam core, watercolor on Arches paper, ink, printed matter on rice paper, Optimum Plexiglas, electrical wire, LEDs, batteries, magnets wall-mounted sculpture 28 x 12 x 6 ½"

NEW MEDIA, 2020*

wood, screws, foam core, watercolor on Arches paper, ink, printed matter on rice paper, Optimum Plexiglas, electrical wire, LEDs, batteries, magnets 28 x 14 x 6 ½"

BOXED IN, 2021* wood, gears, screws, foam core, watercolor on Arches paper, ink, printed matter on rice paper, Optimum Plexiglas, electrical wire, LEDs, batteries, magnets wall-mounted sculpture w/ cleat, side crank, light 28 x 16 x 6 ½"

WHAT DID HAPPEN TO ALICE?, 2020 single-channel video, hand-drawn digital animation (12 min)

Animation: Martin De Geus

Editor: Max Ethan Miller Score Composed and Performed by: Mary Bonhag

THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES, 2022 ink, original watercolor on Stonehenge paper, printed matter on rice paper, museum board, foam core, wood, glue, Optimum Plexilgas, magnets, wire, LEDs, 26 x 16 x 6 ½"

THE SECRET GARDEN, 2022 ink, original watercolor on Stonehenge paper, printed matter on rice paper, the atrical gels, museum board, foam core, wood, glue, Optimum Plexilgas, magnets, wire, LEDs 26 x 16 x 6 ½"

The Garden of Absolute Truths, 2022 (detail)

THE NIGHTINGALE’S EYE, 2022 ink, original watercolor on Stonehenge paper, museum board, foam core, wood, glue 2-way mirror, wide-angle lens, Optimum Plexiglas, magnets, wire, LEDs 20 x 14 x 27"

GULLIVER’S TRAVELS, 2022 ink, original watercolor on Stonehenge paper, printed matter on rice paper, theatrical gels, museum board, foam core, wood, glue, Optimum Plexilgas, magnets, wire, LEDs 20 x 14 x 27"

SOURCE CODE, 2016-ongoing watercolor on Stonehenge paper 42.5 x 119' (6 x 9" each, 94 total)

THE CHILD OF THE PURE UNCLOUDED BROW, 2019 watercolor, oil, and graphite on Arches paper 22 x 16 x 1.25"

THE GARDEN OF ABSOLUTE TRUTHS, 2022 single-channel video, hand-drawn video animation (6:11 min) Animation: Martin De Geus Score Composed by: Kara Gibbs

SEEDLINGS I AND II, 2015 oil on monotype 24 x 16 x 1.25" each

ORIGINATION I, 2014 oil on linen 96 x 120"

ORIGINATION II, 2014 oil on linen 96 x 120"

ETERNAL KNOT, 2013 oil on linen 48 x 60"

LAND MYTH I AND II, 2010-11 from the installation, Fifth Day oil on gessoed paper 16 x 16" each

*Box structure and crank mechanics fabricated by Michael Zebrowski

All works available for sale. Price upon requests.

ARTIST STATEMENT

The Garden of Absolute Truths is a theme park where truth is a shapeshifter weaving in and out of the traditional tales that change and evolve with time and context to inform generations of lives. Using stories familiar to my childhood, I imbue my small interactive theaters, hand-drawn animated videos, paintings, and drawings with sly humor. From ancient creation myths to Alice in Wonderland and The Emperor’s New Clothes, I destabilize and re-envision traditional stories so that well-known classics such as Gulliver’s Travels become a comment on current power inequities, and The Secret Garden is pulled into the winter weeds of digital shaming.

— Valerie Hird

BIOGRAPHY

Valerie Hird is a nationally recognized painter and multimedia installation artist. Hird began her education at Beloit College in Wisconsin, and later the Rhode Island School of Design, where she received her BFA in Painting. Following her formal education, she worked as an apprentice restorer in Massachusetts, before returning to study restoration at the Courtauld Institute in London. Hird later received her MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Art. Her work has garnered awards from the Stratton Mountain Arts Festival, Vermont Arts Council, the Community Foundation of Vermont, and the Commission for the Art of Action: Shaping Vermont’s Future through Art. Her work has been exhibited across the country and internationally, including at The Studios of Key West, Florida; Nohra Haime Gallery, New York City; Atlantic Works Gallery, Boston; the NH Galería, Cartagena, Colombia; and Global Centre for Drawing, North Melbourne, Australia. Hird currently resides in Burlington, Vermont.

FAMILY ART SATURDAY

Saturday, October 22, November 26, and January 28, 2023, 11am – 1pm BCA Center, Fourth Floor

Get creative and make art together! Families can drop-in at the BCA Center in-person and enjoy and art activity inspired by our gallery exhibitions.

TINY THEATERS WORKSHOP WITH VALERIE HIRD

Saturday, Dec 3, 2022, 10 - 5pm BCA Center, 4th Floor Studio Fee: $100 (10 max. Ages 18+)

Create a personal narrative through the art of paper engineering with multimedia artist Valerie Hird. In this full-day workshop, students will learn to create miniature, personal theaters of the imagination. Participants will receive a pre-cut form, as well as bring their own materials to cut, collage, design, and adorn their theaters. By combining narrative storytelling with a novelty-book aesthetic, students will learn to integrate word and image into three-dimensional structures that express their identity. No previous experience is necessary. Scholarship assistance available. Visit our website to register.

GALLERY TALK WITH VALERIE HIRD

Thursday, January 19, 6pm BCA Center, 1st Floor

Valerie Hird explores humanity’s shared stories and reflects on the ambiguities of culture and environment in shaping one’s identity in contemporary society. For her gallery talk, Hird examines some of the visual and literary sources that inform work created over the past decade and featured in her BCA exhibit, The Garden of Absolute Truths

All works Courtesy of the Artist and Nohra Haime Gallery, NY.

Valerie Hird: The Garden of Absolute Truths is sponsored in part by The Maslow Family Foundation, Rolf Kielman & Stephanie Spencer, and Bonnie Reid Martin.

Hospitality sponsors: Lake Champlain Chocolates, Farrell Distributing, and Prophecy Wines.

Burlington City Arts is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and by the Vermont Arts Council.