Vincent Valdez

Vincent Valdez blends large, representational paintings and drawings—the scale of which recalls Western traditions of history painting, mural painting, and cinema—with contemporary subject matter. The results are powerful images of American identity that confront injustice and inequity while imbuing his subjects with empathy and humanity. His twenty-five-year survey exhibition, Just a Dream . . . , premiered in 2024 at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and traveled to MASS MoCA in 2025. 

Valdez’s medallion acknowledges the ideals and mythologies of the Declaration of Independence, as well as its veils and broken promises. The medallion’s botanical imagery evokes the seed that has been planted and rooted enough to spark the imagination and perseverance of many people today to hold the Declaration’s written words accountable.