Rodrigo Valenzuela 'Intervention' Chilean artist at Laurence Miller Gallery

Rodrigo Valenzuela is a Chilean-born, Los Angeles-based artist.

Raised under the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile, Valenzuela immigrated to the U.S. via Canada. He started working as an undocumented day laborer before becoming an artist. Valenzuela’s life experience infuses his art.

“Gestures of alienation and displacement are both the aesthetic and subject of much of my work,” Valenzuela says.

“Gestures of alienation and displacement are both the aesthetic and subject of much of my work.”
Rodrigo Valenzuela

Seeing the worst of humanity enables one to see the best of it. Valenzuela builds and paints installations, then photographs them. Sometimes he then adds the photograph to the installation and rephotographs it.

Valenzuela has degrees in photography, art history and philosophy. He has exhibited widely in the Americas and Europe. His work is in notable collections including the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Microsoft Art Collection, and others.

Rodrigo Valenzuela Intervention

Rodrigo Valenzuela Intervention opens with a reception for the artist at Laurence Miller Gallery in Chelsea, Manhattan on Thursday, March 8, 2018 from 6 – 8 pm. The exhibition runs Tuesday – Saturday through April 28.

This was the most interesting show of the evening, although I had the least expectations for it.

Most of Valenzuela’s recent work plays with the picture plane. Valenzuela builds installations, photographs them, makes a large print, and then builds some more installation in front of the large print. It takes a while to recognize what is in the picture plane and what is outside of it. The effect is very fun.