Andres Valencia brings Profiles in Color to New York

The traveling solo exhibition Profiles in Color: The Paintings of Andres Valencia opens July 16 in New York with portraits, sculpture, animation and studio objects from the young California painter. The show spotlights Valencia’s fast-rising profile and his blend of art-history references, family heritage and contemporary sports culture.

Why it matters: - Andres Valencia has built a national and international profile at a very young age, making the New York stop a notable moment for a painter born in 2011. - The exhibition gives New York audiences a concentrated look at the work, process and influences behind a rapidly watched artist.

What happened: - Profiles in Color: The Paintings of Andres Valencia is on view July 16-19, 2026 at FREE PARKING, 16 Morton Street in New York. - The installation features two dozen three-quarter-profile portraits, including Dual, a portrait set against a bright red ground. - Exhibition hours are 12:00 AM-6:00 PM from Thursday, July 16 through Sunday, July 19. - New York visitors will also see live presentations with Andres Valencia and his parents, Elsa and Guadalupe.

The details: - The New York presentation includes early painted-book portraits, recent paintings, drawings, sculptures and animation videos. - A short making-of video shows Valencia creating preparatory drawings on blank canvases. - The installation includes 3D figures that inform Valencia’s process, including handmade MMA figures, sculptures of artists and historical puppets. - Valencia draws on 1950s music culture, contemporary MMA and boxing, and visual-art precedents tied to his family’s Mexican heritage and 20th-century master painters. - Valencia was born in 2011, is based in California and has been painting since early childhood. - Valencia often works on a step ladder to produce large-scale canvases using oil sticks, oil and acrylic. - The traveling exhibition began in March 2026 at Nassau County Museum of Art in New York. - The broader tour includes 50 paintings, framed drawings, fired-clay sculpture and a stop-motion animation video. - The exhibition also foregrounds 35 objects from Valencia’s vintage-toy collection and an immersive re-creation of the artist’s studio. - A bilingual English/Spanish 180-page catalog is scheduled for publication in January 2027.

Between the lines: - The show is built to position Valencia as both a prodigy and a serious working artist, not just a novelty. - The mix of portraits, studio props and animation suggests an effort to present process as part of the artwork, not just the finished canvas. - Curator Simon Watson’s involvement signals institutional framing for an artist whose market and media attention have already accelerated.

What's next: - Profiles in Color continues touring nationally and internationally after its New York run. - The catalog will extend the exhibition’s reach when it is published in January 2027. - Valencia’s growing visibility is likely to deepen as the tour, media coverage and collector interest continue.