ART WALK SEPTEMBER 3, 2026 – 5-8PM

SECOND SATURDAY OPEN STUDIOS SEPTEMBER 12, 2026 – NOON-4PM

GUEST ARTIST: CARLOS VALENZUELA

ARTIST STATEMENT

Grounded in the belief that anything can be art, but not everything is art, Valenzuela’s work is driven by the need for criteria—structures that allow for exploration, explanation, symbiosis, and clarity. This qualification forms the conceptual foundation of a practice that investigates how meaning is assembled, stabilized, and challenged.

Two influences stand out prominently within Valenzuela’s body of work. The first is the lived experience of encountering multiple versions of what is ostensibly the same language. Speaking English across regions, accents, idioms, and cadences revealed moments of misalignment and misunderstanding that suggested not only the evolution and often including the creolization of language, but the instability of meaning itself. These encounters prompted an early reckoning with how systems we assume to be fixed are, in fact, fluid and contingent.

The second influence emerged through written language, particularly early exposure to local journalism/periodicals. Initially perceived as a clear and authoritative source, closer reading revealed patterns of bias, omission, and editorial framing. This realization led to a broader inquiry into how information is constructed and how all news—regardless of source—carries embedded perspectives and agendas that shape interpretation.

Together, these influences continue to inform Valenzuela’s practice, which interrogates language, material, and structure as aggregates of fallible components. Through processes of fragmentation, reassembly, and material experimentation, the work explores how belief, authority, and meaning are built from unstable parts—and why, despite this instability, we persist in trusting the scaffolding.

STUDIO ARTISTS:

DAWN ENDEAN, ROSALIE FRANKEL, ZEYNEP BANU ALEV and STEPHANIE HARGRAVE

SOLO SHOW

ENCAUSTIC PAINTINGS and WORKS ON PAPER

July 8 – September, 2026

FINISTERE

1025 Lawrence Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368

Curated by Thya Merz

SIRACUSA SERIES 1-6, Acrylic on stretched canvas with collaged elements (photographs of Siracusa Sicily, pages from a French/English dictionary) with Charcoal, Pencil, Micron Pen, Silver Point.