Jeffrey Vallance

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Jeffrey Vallance, Vallance Now, 2016

Mixed media on paper with stickers and printed paper collage, 22 1/4 x 30 in. (56.5 x 76.2 cm)

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Jeffrey Vallance, The Octopus of Life, 2016

Mixed media on paper with commercial labels, stickers, and printed paper collage, 23 x 29 in. (58.4 x 73.7 cm)

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Jeffrey Vallance, Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), 2016

Mixed media on paper with printed paper collage, 22 1/4 x 30 in. (56.5 x 76.2 cm)

JVAL311

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Jeffrey Vallance, McCarran, 2015

Acrylic and mixed media on canvas over panel, 72 x 108 in. (182.9 x 274.3 cm)

JVAL069

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Jeffrey Vallance, Blinky the Friendly Hen, 1978 & beyond

Conceptual series (funeral performance, book, installation)

"On April 27, 1978, I went to the meat department of Ralphs supermarket and looked at chickens in plastic bags. I picked out a nice one and named it Blinky. Then I drove to the Los Angeles Pet Cemetery to bury Blinky. I ordered the complete funeral service – a lot, interment flower vase, blue plastic coffin with pink stain lining, viewing room and grave marker.

Ten years later, I arranged for the remains of Blinky to be exhumed and hired a lawyer, a doctor, and a scientist to determine the cause of Blinky’s death. Blinky’s bones were sifted through an archeological screen, her remains autopsied and her bones analyzed by a computer. Blinky’s bones were then reburied, except for the few bits that I saved as relics. The major first-class relics of Blinky are preserved in the collection of Barry Sloane, Los Angeles." -Jeffrey Vallance

JVAL359

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Jeffrey Vallance, Blinky Cruciform Reliquary, 2008

Mixed media, 11 x 6 3/4 x 3 3/4 in. (27.9 x 17.1 x 7.6 cm)

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Jeffrey Vallance, Friendly Hen Reliquary
2008, Mixed media

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Jeffrey Vallance, Friendly Hen Reliquary, 2008

Mixed media, 9 x 5 x 3 in. (22.9 x 12.7 x 7.6 cm)

On April 27, 1978, I went to the meat department of Ralphs supermarket and looked at chickens in plastic bags. I picked out a nice one and named it Blinky. Then I drove to the Los Angeles Pet Cemetery to bury Blinky. I ordered the complete funeral service – a lot, interment flower vase, blue plastic coffin with pink stain lining, viewing room and grave marker.
Ten years later, I arranged for the remains of Blinky to be exhumed and hired a lawyer, a doctor, and a scientist to determine the cause of Blinky’s death. Blinky’s bones were sifted through an archeological screen, her remains autopsied and her bones analyzed by a computer. Blinky’s bones were then reburied, except for the few bits that I saved as relics. The major first-class relicts of Blinky are preserved in the collection of Barry Sloane, Los Angeles.

JVAL002

Jeffrey Vallance, Artwork from "Off the Street" Show
1985, Photograph

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Jeffrey Vallance, Artwork from "Off the Street" Show, 1985

Photograph, 11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6 cm)

JVAL251

Jeffrey Vallance, X-rayed Portraits of President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale, Autographed)
1978, Acrylic on board, cloth, ribbon, iron powder, & autographs with X-ray display

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Jeffrey Vallance, X-rayed Portraits of President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale, Autographed), 1978

Acrylic on board, cloth, ribbon, iron powder, & autographs with X-ray display, 16 1/2 x 20 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (41.9 x 52.1 x 3.8 cm)

"In 1978, I sent a painted double-portrait to President Carter and Vice President Mondale at the White House to have them autograph it. I had sent drawings to previous presidents to autograph; I knew I could accomplish that, so this time I wanted to up the ante. I decided to send a painting instead of a drawing, and I considered the likelihood that, as a three-dimensional object, a framed painting would have to be x-rayed to make sure it wasn't a bomb. So, I put in something for the x-ray technicians to look at. In a concealed compartment within the artwork, I made a looser painting of Jimmy Carter, painted in acrylic mixed with metalic powder. When the artwork is x-rayed, the secret portrait is revealed. I took it through the x-ray device at LAX and clearly saw Jimmy's smiling face. If I tried this again with our current president, I am sure that I would receive a knock on the door from the folks at Homeland Security." -Jeffrey Vallance

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Jeffrey Vallance, Spirit Photo: Frida Kahlo

Archival digital photographic print on cotton rag paper, 52 x 42 in. (132.1 x 106.7 cm)

Frida Kahlo says she did not like her body. Having problems with her body makes sense, as on September 17, 1925, Kahlo was in a horrendous bus accident in which an iron rod pierced her uterus, causing her to be unable to bear children. But Kahlo feels that artists today have more freedom than in her time. She considers herself a kind of matriarchal figure, which is very true, as she is one of the most widely recognized female artists in the world today. "In spirit, you break into a million pieces of glass and crystal, and the light shines all over."-Spirit of Frida Kahlo

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Jeffrey Vallance, Kahlo Spirit Crystal, 2015

Wood, metal, plastic, and natural crystal, 10 7/8 x 5 7/8 x 5 7/8 in. (27.6 x 14.9 x 14.9 cm)

JVAL104

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Jeffrey Vallance, Spirit Photo: Marcel Duchamp

Archival digital photographic print on cotton rag paper, 52 x 42 in. (132.1 x 106.7 cm)

As he did in life, Duchamp's spirit uses many puns to elucidate his concepts, but it is eerie to hear them in a trance-induced monotone female voice. Near the end of the seance, Duchamp fumbles with his wrists, as if searching for his cuff links. "They are lost," he says, and he weeps; the psychic connection is broken, and the medium laughs nervously. (Could this be his deadpan humor again, referring to a London-based luxury menswear retailer that sells Duchamp brand mother-of-pearl cuff links?) "But few have the ability to have a frame of reference for the beauty and the spirituality that is available once you transcend. It is like trying to describe the mechanics of flight to a squirrel." -Spirit of Marcel Duchamp

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