Valerie Piraino (born 1981) is a Rwandan and American contemporary visual artist, who works mainly in sculpture, drawing and installation. Her art reflects her transnational identity, and includes themes like defining the many aspects of identity as a whole, anti-colonialism (or anti-imperialism), African diaspora, and ancestral identity and memory. She lives in Ulster County, New York.
Biography Valerie Piraino was born in 1981 in Kigali, Rwanda, and she raised both in her home country, as well as in the United States. Her mother, is a Rwandan apparel designer and seamstress and her father, is an American, who has worked in international development and relief. She spending her early childhood in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and three other countries throughout Africa. At the age of 4, she moved with her family to the United States, first to Arizona, and later to Baltimore, Maryland.
She studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art (BFA degree, 2004) in Baltimore. While studying, she was awarded a large grant and traveled back to Rwanda, where much of her mother's side of the family had been killed in the Rwandan Genocide. This trip inspired her work as a transnational artist, including her thesis project. In 2005, Piraino moved to New York City, and began studies at Columbia University School of the Arts, where she received a M.F.A in 2009.
She previously worked as a part-time faculty member at Parsons School of Design at The New School.
Notable works and exhibitions Arguably, her most notorious work is a series of sculptures consisting of papayas created by carving layers of polystyrene, and then covering the shapes in black epoxy clay, paint, resin, sawdust, and occasionally using gold paint to accent the work. The papayas are either displayed on flat surfaces or, as a later development, hung using nets created with twine. When discussing the significance behind the colors, black and gold, Piraino states that the black and gold are reminiscent of the mining and environmental damage that has taken place in Africa due to colonialism. The colors and textures are also said to represent the skin of the people from the region who were exploited for the natural resources of the country. Papayas were the fruit chosen to represent the artists transnational identity and anti-colonial attitude for two main reasons. First, papayas were a common breakfast for the artist when she was a young girl growing up in Africa. Secondly, papayas, native to the Caribbean, represent colonialism because they "follow the trajectory of imperialism and colonialism". Throughout the years and across multiple exhibitions, the meaning behind the work has shifted slightly. In a group exhibit that ended in January, 2017 called Dis Place in the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, the papayas appeared to be broken and bruised, representing violence against African women.
While the papayas are some of Valerie's most notable works, she has created many other bodies of work and has been in exhibitions across the country, as well as being featured in exhibits in other countries around the world.
List of exhibitions
Solo exhibitions +Piraino's solo exhibitionsYearExhibition titleInstitutionLocationNotes2011Solo show by Valerie PirainoMeyerhoff Gallery, Maryland Institute College of ArtBaltimore, Maryland2013Valerie Piraino: ReconstructionCrosstown ArtsMemphis, Tennessee2013Valerie Piraino: PhotoplayCindy Rucker GalleryNew York City, New York
Group exhibitions +Piraino's group exhibitionsYearExhibition titleInstitutionLocationNotes2009The Practice of Joy Before DeathScaramoucheNew York City, New York2010Usable PastsStudio Museum in HarlemNew York City, New York2011The Third PartyNight GalleryLos Angeles, California2012The Bearden Project: HomageStudio Museum in HarlemNew York City, New YorkGet it on the RecordVisceglia Gallery, Caldwell CollegeCaldwell, New JerseyForeStudio Museum in HarlemNew York City, New York2013Present FutureArtissima Turin, ItalyBody LanguageStudio Museum in HarlemNew York City, New YorkRound 39: Looking Back, Moving ForwardProject Row HousesHouston, Texas2014Lucky DrawSculpture CenterNew York City, New YorkThe House Seems All Upset: Exploring Critical WhitenessJade Addams Hull-House MuseumChicago, IllinoisRetreatValerie Carberry GalleryChicago, IllinoisThe Bearden Project: HomageTexas State UniversitySan Marcos, Texas2015After AfropolitanWeeksville Heritage CenterBrooklyn, New YorkAfrica's OutGladstone GalleryNew York City, New YorkMirror MirrorKate Werble GalleryNew York City, New YorkDisplaceMoCADABrooklyn, New York2016SHE: Deconstructing Female IdentityArtsWestchesterWhite Plains, New YorkCollector's ClubProject Row HousesHouston, TexasCAMSTL GalaContemporary Art Museum St. LouisSt, Louis, MissouriPalatableStudio Museum in HarlemNew York City, New YorkLucky DrawSculpture CenterNew York City, New YorkWhatever moves between us also moves the world in generalMurray Guy GalleryNew York City, New YorkAfricans in AmericaGoodman GalleryJohannesburg, South Africa2017Elective Affinities: A LibraryHunter College Art GalleriesNew York City, New YorkA Fast, Moving SkyThe Third Line GalleryDubai, United Arab EmiratesThe Socrates AnnualSocrates Sculpture ParkNew York City, New York
Awards and residencies Valerie has received many fellowships and awards throughout her years of creating art. +Piraino's awards and fellowshipsYearName of awardNotes2004Jacques and Natasha Gelman Travel Award2009Studio Museum in Harlem, artist-in-residence2014Joan Mitchell Foundation, emerging teaching artist fellow2015Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, process space residencyValerie Piraino on Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC)2017Socrates Sculpture Park, emerging artist fellowshipOffshore Residency2018Joan Mitchell Center, artist-in-residenceValerie Piraino on Joan Mitchell Center
References
External links Official website