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Luis Peralta Del Valle
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BIO
Award-winning artist, Luis Peralta Del Valle was born in Nicaragua in 1980 and migrated to the U.S. in 1985. At the age of 13, he started painting graffiti murals in the District, Maryland and Virginia. A few years later at Bell Multicultural High School, he began his formal artistic education, continuing his studies at the Corcoran College of Art and Design.
In 2013 Luis was selected as the winner of the East of the River Distinguished Artist Award. That year he was also a finalist for the District of Columbia 28th Annual Mayor’s Arts Awards. These accomplishments preceded the presentation of the National Museum of Catholic Art and Library National Artist Award by Prince Lorenzo Maria De Medici in 2014, and his selection as the artist commissioned for the 2015 Beijing / District of Columbia Sister Cities Project. The latter project resulted in a panda statue painted by Del Valle that was given to the Mayor of Beijing as a state gift from Mayor Muriel Bowser. Del Valle is also the recipient of the 2015 National Museum of Catholic Art and Library Portrait Award. In 2017 Luis was honored with the NCIS Director’s Coin by NCIS director, Andrew L. Traver.
Luis received his first commission from the fitness franchise Body by Jake after his 16th birthday. Since then he has been commissioned by other businesses, foundations, public institutions, museums and private collectors to create murals, portraits, sculptures, and paintings of various themes. Luis has exhibited his works at various museums and institutions including; NCIS headquarters, V.A., The Embassy of Italy, The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, The Historical Society of Washington DC, The Vatican Embassy, and the Frederick Douglass Isaac Myers Museum in Baltimore, MD. Joel Chalen’s work offers a vision of a romantic idealist torn between living in the fast-paced world of complex modernity where technology reigns against the slower strides of a more traditional, simplistic existence where our shared humanity prevails. His impression of the world combines his assimilation of tradition against the world’s increasing modernity.
STATEMENT
Freedom is Organic # 12 is from my ecologically-conscious sculpture study series Freedom is Organic. It blends iconic American symbols of democracy into a representation of the freedom that we are able to achieve. The images are a mirror of an unfamiliar self that incorporates imagery that symbolizes celebrations of freedom and the struggles and achievements of the mosaic of people that make up the USA. They remind the viewer that freedom is in all of us. We must work toward releasing and maintaining it. Freedom is not static but dynamic. It is a continuous process.
Out of Chaos and The Rose that Grew from Concrete are a series of artistic reflections of Southeast D.C that personify the shared culture and history of the residents of the community. Each of the works in these series is painted on a street sign, transforming everyday street signs from warnings of potential danger into visions of strength and beauty. They merge the subject with the urban landscape and the viewer into a symbolic environment. In this symbolic terrain, the subjects of the artwork are visual guides that are positive messages connecting the visual and symbolic in a way that provides literal interpretations to the viewer. The study of Amanda for the series with the same name, The Rose that Grew from Concrete No. 1, shows her resplendent while adorned in common clothing that is reflective of her African heritage. The Rose that Grew from Concrete No. 3, is cheerfully reading a book with the title of the material that is my mantra; Love, Hope, and Art. Katherine Johnson "Hidden Figures" is a historical icon who serves as a guidepost for the youth of our community. Finally, The Image Maker- Michael B. Platt, is a depiction of one of my mentors that, like his own work depicting humanity, embodies the aspirational future and resilience of Southeast D.C.
-Luis Peralta Del Valle
Washington, DC
