Gray Column (1975-76)
De Wain Valentine
An influential sculptor active in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s, De Wain Valentine is perhaps best known for his striking, semitransparent, and delicately colored large-scale polyester resin sculptures of simple geometric forms, which interact intensely with surrounding light. As part of the Los Angeles-wide Pacific Standard Time initiative, the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) will present From Start to Finish: De Wain Valentine’s Gray Column, on view at the Getty Center from September 13, 2011 through March 11, 2012, an exhibition focused on the materials and fabrication processes developed by Valentine that made the creation of his large-scale works possible. The exhibition centers around the 1975–76 sculpture Gray Column, which, at twelve feet high and eight feet across, is one of the largest artworks Valentine made with polyester resin, and has never before been publicly displayed. From Start to Finish brings to the public’s attention the importance of the materials and manufacturing processes utilized in Valentine’s innovative work, illustrating the story of how this extraordinary piece of art was made—from the development of the material, to the casting of the resin, to the extensive polishing required to achieve the final, perfectly smooth finish.
Cast polyester resin 12 x 8 ft
Image courtesy De Wain Valentine / Artwork© De Wain Valentine
Untitled (date unknown)
De Wain Valentine
De Wain Valentine is pictured here in his studio in the late 1960s, lounging in a mold used to create one of his Circles, which is eight feet in diameter.
Artwork © De Wain Valentine Photograph © Harry Drinkwater
Gray Column (1975-76)
De Wain Valentine
An influential sculptor active in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s, De Wain Valentine is perhaps best known for his striking, semitransparent, and delicately colored large-scale polyester resin sculptures of simple geometric forms, which interact intensely with surrounding light. As part of the Los Angeles-wide Pacific Standard Time initiative, the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) will present From Start to Finish: De Wain Valentine’s Gray Column, on view at the Getty Center from September 13, 2011 through March 11, 2012, an exhibition focused on the materials and fabrication processes developed by Valentine that made the creation of his large-scale works possible. The exhibition centers around the 1975–76 sculpture Gray Column, which, at twelve feet high and eight feet across, is one of the largest artworks Valentine made with polyester resin, and has never before been publicly displayed. From Start to Finish brings to the public’s attention the importance of the materials and manufacturing processes utilized in Valentine’s innovative work, illustrating the story of how this extraordinary piece of art was made—from the development of the material, to the casting of the resin, to the extensive polishing required to achieve the final, perfectly smooth finish.
Cast polyester resin
Unkown Photographer Artwork © De Wain Valentine.
Gray Column (1975-76)
De Wain Valentine
De Wain Valentine is seen here, seated in front of Gray Column.
Cast polyester resin
Unknown Photographer Artwork © De Wain Valentine
Untitled (date unknown)
De Wain Valentine
Rachel Rivenc from the Getty Conservation Institute is pictured here in De Wain Valentine's studio, conducting in-site chemical analysis on a maquette used for Gray Column.
Photograph by Tom Learner
