Nowhere Left – Paul Valentine

November 4 – December 4, 2022

Artist Statement

Paul Valentine creates woodcut prints and paintings that celebrate the beauty and power of the earth and asks the viewer to consider the impact that their lifestyle leaves upon it. We all consume material goods at a horrifically fast rate. We buy our freshly grown produce wrapped up in plastic, eat our food out of foam containers, and throw away last year’s electronic gadgets to make room for the newest models. These things we throw away leave our mind as soon as they enter the waste bin, but they will exist somewhere in the world for hundreds of years. Our lives are so short but our trash’s life is long. Paul’s artwork draws attention to the mindset that trades long-term natural beauty for short-term satisfaction.

About the Artist

Paul Valentine is a multidisciplinary artist living in Surry, Maine. Formerly an architectural and museum exhibit designer, he graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelors of Architecture. He has exhibited artwork and painted murals in Qatar, Russia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, and the United States, as well as participated in a 9-month Artist-in-Residency at the FireStation Museum in Qatar. Paul has dedicated a significant portion of his life to exploring the natural world, having backpacked over 7,000 meters of long-distance trails, walking across the US twice, on the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail, and the Te Araroa Trail in New Zealand. The impact that sleeping under the stars for a combined 2 years during these adventures has had on his work cannot be overstated. Seeing the first-hand effects that humanity is having on the world propels him to use his art to help inspire people to take better care of the beautiful and magical places we have all around us.