The world of contemporary art has more than its share of young talent, but it’s hard to recall an artist as recognized early in his career as Andres Valencia.
In the last year he has gone from being relatively obscure to a bona fide artistic phenomenon. His surrealist paintings in his style were purchased at Art His Basel His Miami Beach by wealthy collectors such as Tommy Mottola and Jessica Goldman His Slevnick. In June he solo exhibition At the Chase Contemporary Gallery in SoHo, all 35 pieces were sold, fetching between $50,000 and $125,000, according to the gallery.
One of his paintings sold for $159,000 (including fees). Phillips de Pury Auction Hong Kong raised $230,000 at a charity gala in Capri, Italy.
“I’m happy to make people happy with my art and to hang it in their homes,” he said at the Chase Gallery on a recent Monday.Professora large Cubist-like painting of a 4.5-foot-tall man as tall as the artist himself, rendered in acrylic and oil. He added embarrassedly.
It should be noted that “art genius” When “small picasso,” is only 10.
When the gallery closed, he joined his mother, Elsa Valencia, 48. jewelry designer When she’s not taking her son to an art show, and gallery owner Bernie Chase. Andres took us through his show.
“Clowns are just classics,” he said, referring to a piece called “Max the Clown.” Another “Godfather” was commissioned by a Florida family to portray a mafia minion.
As if the precocious student was unaware of his maturity, he cited some of his inspirations: Jean-Michel Basquiat, George Condo, Pokemon, Picasso’s Guernica, Click and Play. Army action figure.
“I’ve been in the art business for 20 years,” Mr. Chase proudly told a bystander. “I’ve worked with the likes of Peter Beard and Kenny Scharf. Andres has the potential to be much bigger than that.”
Andres may be basking in the accolades, but he’s also a fifth grader doing math homework. “My son is an artist, but he is a child first,” said his mother. “He’s a child, not a celebrity.”
She and her husband, Lupe Valencia, 50, a lawyer and athletic manager for Cuban boxer Frank Sanchez, said their son was an overnight sensation, not a big deal. It doesn’t mean that there is.
They briefly used the services of veteran New York publicist Nadine Johnson, now Sam Morris, theater and arts spokesperson.Articles about baby-faced artists appear one after another miami herald, new york post, forbes When The Times of LondonHe was featured on ABC’s World News Tonight.
The son’s high income was an opportunity to teach him “how to give back,” the mother said. More than $300,000 of Andrés’ sales went to his AIDS charity amfAR and children’s charity Box of Hope, according to the Valencias.
His art career started when he was four years old. His parents noticed him spending hours in his dining room in San Diego sketching graffiti paintings by his artist Retna, one of his father’s former clients.
“I would take a piece of paper and sit there, trying to copy it all the time, but it took me years to get it right,” Andrés said fidgeting in his seat. .
His artistic confidence grew rapidly. He sold the watercolor to a friend of his family for his $20. Among them was Mr. Chase, who offered to pay him $100 each time he visited Valencia, San Diego.Andres proved equally skilled as a salesman, and his price he We have increased the price to $5,000. “So I said, ‘Okay, I’ll give you $5,000,'” Chase said with a laugh. “I took him to my car to write a check and Elsa came running after yelling, ‘What do you think you’re doing?'”
Chase said the Valencias bought enough paintings to convince their son to “share his talent with the world.” He contacted Nick Konilov, director of Art Miami, which runs parallel to Art Basel, to debut young artists.
Kornilov said he was initially “very skeptical when I heard Bernie wanted to work with this 10-year-old.” But he also believed that demand for “something fun” would build after the pandemic. “The story of a talented 10-year-old painter was satisfying,” he added.
Still, Kornilov said he was wary of risking “my reputation” for middle schoolers.
News of the child painter spread rapidly. Sofia She also bought celebrities such as Vergara and Channing her Tatum. The reporter asked for verification that the artwork was done by someone very young. invited to do The spectacle attracted even more media interest.
His followers continue to grow. Earlier this month, his BTS singer known as V shared his one of Andres’ creations. cubist portrait 50 million Instagram followers.
Underage artists are rare, but not unique in the art world. Laura JuneYoung art stars like Alexandra Nechita, who was labeled “Mozart with a paintbrush” on a talk show at age 12 and made millions of dollars in sales, continue to create work.
Child stardom wasn’t very kind to others. Mara Olmsted sold her abstract painting for thousands of dollars when she was just four years old, but years later, in a segment of “60 Minutes” and an investigative documentary, her father told her It was questioned whether he taught painting.
Other contemporary art gallery owners warn that the speculative frenzy surrounding Andrés may not last long. We see it as an asset class of Romex, a downtown Manhattan gallery focused on emerging artists. “But the life of any young artist changes dramatically over time, so it would be very absurd for anyone to assume that the investment would be long-lasting for her 24-year-old painter. In this case.”
Back in the gallery, Andrés grabbed the notepad in front of him and scribbled a portrait. “When I see kids sketching on paper with markers, I think a lot of people shouldn’t put those drawings in the gallery,” he said, putting down his pen. Sometimes I don’t know.”