De Wain Valentine, “Work from 1967 to Present”

During the 1960s and ’70s, L.A. artist De Wain Valentine was part of a SoCal milieu of artists whose works were grouped under the interchangeable labels of California Light and Space art and Finish Fetish. They shared a Sunshine State spin on Minimalism inspired not only by West Coast light but also by the bright, high-gloss paint jobs favored by Los Angeles’s hot rod scene, as well by the plastics manufacturers serving the aerospace industry. The latter was key for Valentine, whose sculptures were cast from resins of varying tints, transparencies and translucencies into wedges, cut gemstones and lozenges resembling pills. This show offers a selection of classic pieces that are as seductive as they are sublime.