Gynx Valentine
Gynx Valentine grew up in a household that nurtured creativity. A father who loved reading and a mother who enjoyed coloring created an environment where writing and drawing felt natural rather than exceptional. What stood out early on was Valentine’s attraction to three-dimensional forms, sparked by childhood toys like Lite Brite and Magnetix. These early encounters with building and spatial play laid the groundwork for a practice that would later move decisively into sculptural and installation-based work.
Although Valentine holds a Bachelor’s degree, they describe their artistic development as largely self-directed. Formal education did little to shape their practice in meaningful ways, and much of their growth came from independent experimentation rather than institutional guidance. This self-reliance continues to inform how they approach making, learning, and risk-taking.
Experimentation is central to Valentine’s work. Trial, error, and discovery are treated as essential rather than incidental, with each new material or process becoming a tool that might resurface in future projects or be passed along to other artists. Their practice consistently incorporates body horror and grotesque anatomy, not for shock alone, but to confront a collective discomfort with the physical reality of bodies. Flesh, viscera, and distortion become ways of addressing what is usually avoided, asking viewers to sit with unease rather than look away.
Influences such as Stephanie Temma Hier, Rommy De Bommy, Cao Hui, Robert Gober, and Roxanne Jackson encouraged Valentine to move beyond small, intimate objects and toward large-scale installation. This shift reframed the work as an experience rather than a singular artifact, emphasizing immersion, confrontation, and presence.
Their creative process begins with visual accumulation. Valentine builds extensive mood boards, often starting on Pinterest before refining ideas digitally. From there, attention turns to logistics and materials: how the work will be constructed, what it will be made from, and how it will physically hold together. Practical problem-solving is as much a part of the work as conceptual development.
When creative momentum slows, Valentine revisits older pieces, reworking them with newly developed skills. This practice of return allows growth to remain visible and reinforces continuity rather than abandonment. One particularly significant work, I Know That If You Hide, It Doesn’t Go Away, marked a turning point. The piece was demanding in its construction and storage, but its reception confirmed Valentine’s shift toward installation as a primary mode of expression. More recent work engages directly with personal memory and shared experiences within communities Valentine belongs to. The goal is to give form and visibility to voices that are often silenced or undervalued, offering space for recognition rather than simplification. Applying to open calls has become a meaningful milestone in this process, serving as evidence of sustained output and readiness rather than acceptance alone.
Success, for Valentine, is defined by persistence. Continuing to make work, especially after being discouraged by authority figures, stands as its own measure of achievement. External trends hold little weight, particularly those that reduce human labor and intention. Art history provides perspective on how fleeting such pressures are, reinforcing a commitment to human-made work.
Valentine’s practice draws heavily from lived experience. Memory functions as both source material and motivation, allowing younger versions of the self to be acknowledged and expressed. Inspiration often comes from thrift stores, where discarded objects suggest new forms and narratives through reuse and transformation. Looking ahead, Valentine is focused on scaling up. Industrial materials, larger tools, and expanded installations are becoming central to future projects. Collaboration with artists working at similar scales and with shared sensibilities remains a long-term interest. At its core, the work continues to operate on defiance, care, and refusal, insisting on the value of making even, and especially, when it is discouraged,
