The Contemporary Project – 4, Vincent Valdez: The City

Vincent Valdez’s The City I (2015–16) is a four-part canvas that portrays a group in Ku Klux Klan robes and hoods on a bluff overlooking a metropolis at night. The black-and-white palette recalls the look of historical photographs and old movies, but details such as an iPhone, a can of Budweiser beer, and a new Chevrolet truck situate the work firmly in the present day. In spite of the work’s unsettling subject matter, the group engages in seemingly familiar activities: a parent holds a child, a woman clutches a clipboard like a teacher keeping track of her students, and a man checks his phone. We have interrupted their gathering. The group looks warily at us as we look at them; no one appears to be welcome here.

Visit the exhibition site to read more: https://blantonmuseum.org/primer-vincent-valdez/about-the-art/