VALERIE HIRD, Origination I, 2019. Oil on canvas. 96 x 120 in. (243.8 x 304.8 cm).

Vermont-based and nationally acclaimed artist Valerie Hird explores the connections between cultures and their environment as a meditation on the ambiguities of our contemporary world. In her first solo exhibition at the Burlington City Arts Center (BCA), Hird presents a provocative visual exploration of humanity’s shared myths. The artist envisions a fantastical garden where untamed and uncivilized nature becomes a metaphor for the pressures weighing on societal systems.

Through a diverse vocabulary of colorful patterns and iconic symbols gathered and reimagined, Hird explores personal and collective identity – weaving together social, cultural, and political themes in a range of media. In this selection of new and recent work, Hird moves forward and backward across time and memory as she reflects on the illusion, disruption, and disarray within contemporary society. The Garden of Absolute Truths features large-scale paintings, animated video, and three-dimensional sculpture commissioned specifically for the exhibition.

Heather Feller, Curator and Director of Exhibitions of the Burlington City Arts Center

VALERIE HIRD, Child of the Pure Unclouded Brow, 2019. Watercolor and oil paint on Arches paper. 21 x 15 in. (53.3 x 38.1cm).

ARTIST TALK 

THursday, January 19, 2023 from 6:oo - 7:00 pm

VALERIE HIRD: THE GARDEN OF ABSOLUTE TRUTHS

BURLINGTON CITY ARTS CENTER

October 21, 2022 - January 28, 2023

Valerie Hird's work explores humanity’s shared stories and reflects on the ambiguities of culture and environment in shaping one’s identity in contemporary society. For her gallery talk, Hird examines some of the visual and literary sources that inform work created over the past decade and featured in her BCA exhibit, The Garden of Absolute Truths.