MARK VALLEN: MORE THAN A WITNESS

"Mark Vallen has become an accomplished Social Realist for the early 21st
century. He honors his predecessors by focusing on the pressing issues of
our own perilous times. Proud to embrace the same label, he does in the late
20th and early 21st centuries what generations of political artists
accomplished during their own turbulent time".
- Paul Von Blum, author of, The Critical Vision: A history of Social and
Political Art in the U.S.

"... LA artist Mark Vallen establishes himself as one of the most profound
political artists of our time."
- LA.com review

"For art that reaches both the heart and mind and has something relevant to
say about the city we inhabit,
this exhibit is a must see."
- LA Alternative Press

SLIDE LECTURE BY MARK VALLEN
HIROSHIMA DAY
FRIDAY AUGUST. 6th. 8 p.m.
The artist will appear at the A Shenere Velt Gallery on Hiroshima Day to
present a slide show and lecture on the subject of art and its intersection
with political and social issues. Vallen will address matters pertaining to
art in times of war, censorship, and the function of the artist as both
social historian and leading light in the development of social progress
(free).

THE EXHIBITION
With paintings, drawings, and prints, Vallen documented the upheavals and
social realities that helped to shape the face of L.A. The topics addressed
by the artist range from the Vietnam War to the battlefields of Central
America, and the resulting waves of immigration these conflicts engendered.
Vallen submerged himself in the city's original 1977 punk rock explosion,
and created portraits of the fans and musicians involved. In fact, the name
of the retrospective is borrowed from the byline used by Flipside, one of
L.A.'s first punk magazines. The artist's brush railed against apartheid and
the Cold War of the 1980's, and captured the Rodney King riots of 1991. This
solo exhibition presents a chronology of studio works, pieces created as
public art, illustrations for books and newspapers, and artworks never
before shown.

GALLERY HOURS
Monday - Thursday 10 am - 5 pm
Friday 10 am - 3 pm
Group and guided viewings can be arranged.
The artworks will also be on view during regular events at the Workmen's
Circle.

CONTACT:
A SHENERE VELT GALLERY - WORKMEN'S CIRCLE/ARBETER RING
1525 S Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035
Telephone: (310) 552-2007
Fax (310) 552-3417
Web: http://www.circlesocal.org
E-mail: circle [at] circlesocal.org