Jess Valice — Born 1996, San Fernando Valley, California. Lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Represented by Bill Brady Gallery, Miami; and ATM Gallery, New York.

 

Jess Valice initially studied and pursued a career in Biopsychology. Eventually her long-running interest and meditation on humans and their ways of self-expression found form in portraits. Inspired by the emotionally exhausting journey of contemporary culture — filled with inspirations in online forums or California cowboys, mass-produced cultural objects, or Old Master paintings — Valice creates unique and enigmatic figures who are impenetrable and relatable in the same moment.

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Valice is a self-proclaimed “painter and friend” according to her Instagram. Nothing could be more evident in her works than this statement. She knows she’s not alone in her human feelings, so she takes to the canvas and uses her art as an outlet to let others know that, just as promised, she is a friend. Focusing on one character that peers out at the audience unflinchingly, even with multiple subjects within, Valice achieves a certain solemnity. These characters are “wildly expressive without giving anything away too quickly.” She is inspired by everything and in turn forces the viewer to find inspiration themselves in the smallest details of her work – a blow up pool float, a peeled orange, or a string of pearls. The longer you stare at one of her pieces, the greater an impact it has.

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Valice has had solo exhibitions with Carl Kostyal, Milan; ATM Gallery, New York; and Bill Brady Gallery, Miami. Recent group exhibitions include: Stockholm Sessions, Carl Kostyal, Stockholm; Mirror Gazing, The Pit, Los Angeles; Allegory of Painting, WOAW Gallery, Hong Kong; A Peripheral Reverie, Penske Projects, Montecito; and We Used to Gather, Library Street Collective, Detroit.