One of the Georgia Museum of Art’s latest exhibitions, “De
Wain Valentine: Human Scale,” opened on Sept. 8, and will be on display until
Jan. 27, 2013. In addition to bringing the necessary pieces together in a
cohesive manner, a considerable amount of research was required for the
exhibition—knowing how, when, and in what context Valentine created his work
provides a greater understanding of the different artistic movements during the
1960s and 1970s. A large portion of that research was provided by Beau Ott, a
collector of Valentine’s work, who also graciously provided three iconic
sculptures for the exhibition: “Lavender Column” (1968), “Rose Circle” (1970)
and “Gray Ring” (1974).
“As I enjoy researching the art
and artists whose work I collect, I had amassed quite a bit of information
about this body of Valentine’s work,” Ott said. “I have been collecting art,
from mainly the 1960’s, for nearly 10 years. I became a fan of Valentine’s
works, especially from this period, several years ago. I was very excited when
the initial opportunity arose for me to acquire one of Valentine’s polyester
resin works.”
Ott, as it turns out, became
friends with Valentine through the process of obtaining his sculptures. This friendship
is especially highlighted in the documentary on loan from the Getty Museum,
“From Start to Finish: The Story of De Wain Valentine’s ‘Gray Column’,” which
is featured alongside the exhibition.
“I have a tremendous amount of
respect for the vision that De Wain had during a very special time in art
history and that he had the tenacity to work with a very difficult medium in
order to realize his artistic vision,” said Ott. “I said to him in a recent
conversation, ‘De Wain, has anyone in your entire life ever, accused you of thinking small?’”
Indeed, the idea of the small does not seem to apply to Valentine’s
work. These sculptures stand six to eight feet high and weigh hundreds, if not
thousands of pounds, according to Ott.
“Valentine’s work in this exhibit offers a unique art-viewing
experience,” he said. “The large, clear-colored, plastic lens-like sculptures
affect the viewer’s perception and offer a unique sculpture-viewing experience
as one can simultaneously observe all facets, curves and edges. This was never
before possible until Valentine developed the special polyester resin material
that could be used [for his work].”
Beau Ott and
De Wain Valentine's
"Lavender Column"
Ott and our docents |
“Human Scale” is the first time
Valentine’s work has been featured on the East Coast outside of New York, and
it seems a stroke of luck that it managed to happen, according to Ott.
“Collectors are hesitant to allow their human scale polyester
resin sculptures to travel,” he said. “While Valentine created approximately 50
human scale polyester resin sculptures, fewer…are extant due to the fragility
of the pieces.”
There isn’t much room for error,
but overall, Ott is happy with the way GMOA has presented Valentine’s work and
encourages all to come have a closer look at the immense sculptures.
“The GMOA exhibition was brilliantly curated to allow each of these
eight works to be seen to present the fullest effect to the exhibitions’
viewers,” he said. “[It] offers the never-before opportunity to see
eight of these sculptures on display within the same exhibition.”
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