Valentine’s Work Selected for Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts’ Delta Triennial Exhibition

Clark Valentine, assistant professor of drawing at UA Little Rock, has earned a coveted spot in the highly competitive Delta Triennial Exhibition at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts.

Valentine was one of only 38 artists from more than 1,200 submissions selected for the exhibition. His work, "Untitled (Weaving 7)," is 50 inches by 60 inches and was completed in 2023.

"I am very excited about this piece getting into the Delta Triennial," Valentine said. "This was the first piece that I finished when I moved to Arkansas and started at UA Little Rock. It moved with me through two cities, three states, two jobs, and four art studios."

Normally, a piece like this would take Valentine three to four months to complete, but it took him years because of all of the changes in his life.

"This was one of those pieces that I kept chugging away on for years," Valentine said. "Every time I got in a flow, life would interrupt. When I look at it, I see all of these pivotal changes that have happened over my life in the past two years in this time of change and inconsistency. I see a really important moment in my practice that shows the interconnectedness of the lived experience and studio art."

[Link]Clark Valentine is shown with his work, Untitled (Weaving 7), on display in the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts.

For more than 60 years, the Delta exhibition has elevated and promoted awareness of artists born in or working in Arkansas and its surrounding states: Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. Founded by AMFA in 1958 as a juried exhibition, the Delta is named after the fertile floodplains surrounding the Mississippi River and seeks to amplify artistic voices in the Mid-South as they reflect complex histories and shifts in the cultural landscape.

Over time, the Delta exhibition has transformed into a collaborative series, "Delta Voices: Artists of the Mid-South," developed in partnership with museums across the region, and has now evolved into its current form as a triennial juried exhibition.

"This year, AMFA received over 1,200 applications - a record-breaking number for AMFA's Delta exhibition," said Brian Lang, chief curator and Windgate Foundation curator of contemporary craft. "The sheer volume of applicants allowed jurors to select a truly exceptional showcase of art from the Mid-South. The 2024 Delta Triennial will be a display of unparalleled creativity and talent, making it a must-see exhibition for art enthusiasts and museumgoers alike."

The Delta Triennial Exhibition will be on display at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts until Aug. 25. You will also have the opportunity to view a solo exhibition by Valentine opening Aug. 19 at UA Little Rock.

"I am very grateful for the faculty's support at UA Little Rock," Valentine said. "This has been an exceptional journey to accomplish in my first year here. They have made me feel connected and a part of a community."

Valentine has a busy year ahead of him. These exhibitions will be followed by a solo exhibition in Colorado this fall, a solo exhibition in Peoria, Illinois, in spring 2025, and an artist residency and exhibition in Kathmandu, Nepal, during summer 2025.

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