Crafted in layers that veil or reveal incident, Valentin's paintings have an apparitional quality.
While abstraction plays a significant role in conveying his psychologically charged narrative, the solitary male figure takes centre stage. Sensually rendered with draughtsmanship influenced by Greco-Roman and Renaissance artistry, they portray intimate expressions of an embattled psyche.
As an expressive tool Valentin values abstraction as equal to figurative. Whilst sometimes utilising singular abstracts to illustrate a particular point, his broader collections are statements in themselves, expressing an evolving thought or state through the exploration of a single motif. Several collections have been commissioned for site-specific installation. Notable examples are the Tightrope series commissioned by Soufraki Interiors for Prince Consort House in the City of London, and the Corinthians collection commissioned by the Concordia Arts Foundation as a backdrop for the English Song Prize held at London's October Gallery in Mayfair.
“When existence seems nothing but a disquieting vacuum, abstraction offers dialogue.”
As a painter, Valentin defied traditional practice by bouncing radically and freely between expressive styles. Over time he developed a reputation for acting as his own impresario, attracting curiosity by unveiling his work annually as novel collections. Between 1997 - 2017, he showed around six hundred paintings and sculptures, staging twenty solo exhibitions in major European cities including London, Valencia, Lisbon and Madrid.
