| Valerie Piraino | |
| Nationality: | Rwandan American |
| Education: |
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| Known For: | Sculpture, Installation, Drawing |
| Spouse: | Drew Piraino |
Valerie Piraino is a contemporary artist who works mainly in sculpture, drawing and instillation.[1]
She was born in 1981 in Kigali, Rwanda[2] and raised both in her home country as well as in the United States. 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.[3] She has been the recipient of over a dozen awards and residencies, and has been featured in over thirty exhibitions in eight states and at least three countries.
Valerie's mother, who was a Rwandan designer and seamstress, met her father, an American, while he was working in international relief efforts and development. After spending her early childhood in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and three other countries throughout Africa, Valerie, as well as her parents, moved to Arizona. Later, her family moved to Baltimore, MD, where she studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art. While studying in Baltimore, Valerie 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.[4]
In 2005, Valerie moved to New York City, where she began her M.F.A. at Columbia University School of the Arts. She graduated with Her M.F.A in 2009 and along with creating her work, she currently works as a part-time faculty member at Parsons School of Design at the New School.
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, Valerie 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.[5] 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 an 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.[6]
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.
| 2010 | Collective Show | Participant Inc. | New York City, NY |
| Usable Pasts | Studio Museum in Harlem | New York City, NY | |
| 2011 | Fidelity | Meyerhoff Gallery, Maryland Institute College of Art | Baltimore, MD |
| The Third Party | Night Gallery | Los Angeles, CA | |
| 2012 | The Bearden Project | Studio Museum in Harlem | New York City, NY |
| Get it on the Record | Visceglia Gallery, Caldwell College | Caldwell, NJ | |
| Fore | Studio Museum in Harlem | New York City, NY | |
| 2013 | Present Future | Artissima | Turin, Italy |
| Reconstruction | Crosstown Arts | Memphis, TN | |
| Photoplay | Cindy Rucker Gallery | New York City, NY | |
| Body Language | Studio Museum in Harlem | New York City, NY | |
| Round 39: Looking Back, Moving Forward | Project Row Houses | Houston, TX | |
| 2014 | Lucky Draw | Sculpture Center | New York City, NY |
| "The House Seems All Upset" Contemporary Art Interventions on Critical Whiteness | Jade Addams Hull House Museum | Chicago, IL | |
| Retreat | Valerie Carberry Gallery | Chicago, IL | |
| The Bearden Project | Texas State University | San Marcos, TX | |
| 2015 | After Afropolitan | Weeksville Heritage Center | Brooklyn, NY |
| Africa's Out | Gladstone Gallery | New York City, NY | |
| Mirror Mirror | Kate Werble Gallery | New York City, NY | |
| Displace | MOCADA | Brooklyn, NY | |
| 2016 | SHE: Deconstructing Female Identity | ArtsWestchester | White Plains, NY |
| Collector's Club | Project Row Houses | Houston, TX | |
| CAMSTL Gala | Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis | St, Louis, MO | |
| Palatable | Studio Museum in Harlem | New York City, NY | |
| Event Horizon | Lesley Heller Workspace | New York City, NY | |
| Lucky Draw | Sculpture Center | New York City, NY | |
| Everyday Redefined | Corridor Gallery | Brooklyn, NY | |
| Whatever moves between us also moves the world in general | Murray Guy Gallery | New York City, NY | |
| Africans in America | Goodman Gallery | Johannesburg, South Africa | |
| 2017 | Elective Affinities: A Library | Hunter College Art Galleries | New York City, NY |
| Downtown 83 Aljira Benefit and Auction | Aljira Center for Contemporary Art | Newark, NJ | |
| A Fast, Moving Sky | The Third Line Gallery | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | |
| The Socrates Annual | Socrates Sculpture Park | New York City, NY |
Valerie has received many fellowships and awards throughout her years of creating art.
| 2004 | Jacques and Natasha Gelman Travel Award |
| 2009 | Studio Museum in Harlem, Artist-in-residence |
| 2011 | Rema Hort Mann Foundation Grant Nominee |
| 2012 | Rema Hort Mann Foundation Grant Nominee |
| 2013 | Project Row Houses, Visiting Artist |
| 2014 | Joan Mitchell Foundation, Emerging Teaching Artist Fellow |
| 2015 | Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Process Space |
| 2017 | Socrates Sculpture Park, Emerging Artist Fellowship |
| Offshore Residency | |
| Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award Nominee | |
| 2018 | Joan Mitchell Center, Artist-in-residence |
| The Wassaic Project, Editions Program |