SURFACE TREATMENT: Ring, by Paul Valadez

Forty-four paintings of jeweler's rings suddenly form a larger ring around the art viewer. Painted by Paul Valadez over the past three months, all four walls of the ManicHaus Art Space display his "Ring" exhibit. These paintings subtly deal with race, culture, and history through a concept-style of "old signage."

The subject of rings is an abrupt departure from this artist's previous subjects. Valadez admits he was still thinking about people when he did these paintings.

" I have a distinct style," he admitted, "and I like this style. I like the way it looks, but I was getting typecast with my subject matter. I wanted to get away from the faces. I wanted to give myself some kind of restraints...how could I represent people without showing them?"

His solution was images of jewelry. Rings provide status, and status is intertwined with personal identity. Rings may also speak of the present and the past, of social customs, and personal idiosyncrasies.

Rings connect to people; they evoke a certain personage in their style. Gesturing to his paintings, Valadez wondered, "Who would give this to someone; who would wear it? And the rings started becoming decisions that people make to identify themselves. And that's what really started to fascinate me," he said. "They do represent people. The person who would wear the big gaudy gold nugget ring is different from the one who would wear the Masonic ring."

A Skull Ring is an SS ring that was worn by a Nazi party member. It has a negative feeling about it, while the diamond ring next to it reflects joy.

Many of the ring paintings represent a lower economic quality as they relate to the general populace. For instance, some paintings, like the Hollywood Ring, harbor a "cheesy" aesthetic hinting that the selling point is the value. "It has a Fredericks of Hollywood status," commented Valadez.

There are no tasteful Tiffany solitaires here, rather more like what you'd get out of a gumball machine. Their dignity is further compromised by the artist's old signage painting style. There are rings that fill the canvas space with their exuberance, yet others that seem to pull back from the viewer, smaller images shyly floating in a central space. Valadez said that this may reflect age or gender.

In his search for a new subject, Valadez was trying to find something that we take for granted, something that we overlook. He discovered rings. "Rings and the content of rings," he said. "These things are full of meaning. I started off by doing four or five and ended up with forty-four, and there's still more that come to mind."

Paul Valadez' painting will be included in the 2009 Texas Biennial this spring.

RING, a Solo Exhibit by Paul Valadez,
Where: ManicHaus Modern Art Space, 1301-B, North Main Street
When: Through Feb. 20, 2009; hours: Mon through Fri, 1 to 6pm; and Sat by appointment. Admission is free
Contact: 956-207-0940 or e-mail: manichaus@gmail.com

Nancy Moyer, PhD, is an art reviewer for The Monitor. She is an independent artist living in McAllen and may be reached at nmoyer@rgv.rr.com