ANTONY VALERIAN
HELP YOURSELF TO PRETZELS

The Hamburg-born artist created a series of paintings for his first solo show in Mexico City, HELP YOURSELF TO PRETZELS. The title symbolizes and connects Valerian with his German roots, a sort of ironic nod to stereotypes. The dark themes of the skeletons are a reference to “El Día de Los Muertos”, the Mexican Day of the Dead, honoring those passed. The works were created in Mexico near the Pacific, which is reflected in his use of color and backdrops. Antony Valerian studied in Vienna under Daniel Richter, forming his sense of self, and giving him “the courage for self-criticism.” He also received the Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant.

His melancholic scenes evoke a nostalgic melancholy while bringing an impatient dynamic. The familiarity of these nowhere places brings a sense of belonging while alienating the viewer at the same time. Powerful brushstrokes with flowing colors give a dynamic nature to otherwise eerie backdrops. He creates an atmosphere that pulls the viewer in, washes over, and enthralls us.

Valerian’s paintings move like a sequential glitch in our visual pictorial knowledge matrix. Everything is processed into each other or has been separated in the layering of color, duct, or composition, which arises and falls apart when looking closely or stepping back. He takes a problem-solving approach to painting, translating into disproportional perspectives, innovative surface textures, and colors.