Jeffrey Vallance

Jeffrey Vallance was born in 1955 in Redondo Beach, ca. In 1979, he received a BA from California State University and, in 1981, an MFA from Otis. He lives and works in Los Angeles. Vallance's work blurs the lines between object making, installation, performance, curating and writing and his projects are often site-specific, such as burying a frozen chicken at a pet cemetery; traveling to Polynesia to research the myth of Tiki; having audiences with the king of Tonga; the queen and president of...See more

Jeffrey Vallance was born in 1955 in Redondo Beach, ca. In 1979, he received a BA from California State University and, in 1981, an MFA from Otis. He lives and works in Los Angeles. Vallance's work blurs the lines between object making, installation, performance, curating and writing and his projects are often site-specific, such as burying a frozen chicken at a pet cemetery; traveling to Polynesia to research the myth of Tiki; having audiences with the king of Tonga; the queen and president of Palau and the presidents of Iceland; creating a Richard Nixon Museum; traveling to the Vatican to study Christian relics; installing an exhibit aboard a tugboat in Sweden; and curating shows in the museums of Las Vegas (such as the Liberace and Clown Museum). In Lapland, Vallance constructed a shamanic 'magic drum.' In Orange County, Mr. Vallance curated the only art world exhibition of the Painter of Light entitled 'Thomas Kinkade: Heaven on Earth.' In 1983, he was host of MTV's The Cutting Edge and appeared on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman. In 2004, Vallance received the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation award. In addition to exhibiting his artwork, Vallance has written for such publications and journals as Art issues, Artforum, the LA Weekly, Juxtapoz, Frieze and the Fortean Times. He has published over ten books, including Blinky the Friendly Hen, The World of Jeffrey Vallance: Collected Writings 1978- 1994, Christian Dinosaur, Art on the Rocks, Preserving America's Cultural Heritage, Thomas Kinkade: Heaven on Earth, My Life with Dick, Relics and Reliquaries, The Vallance Bible and Rudis Tractus (Rough Drawing). See less