Valadezza's work at Circle South highlights myth and immigration realities

NUVO MAGAZINE
By Dan Grossman

Valadezza's "The Protector"

INDIANAPOLIS---The painting is entitled “Protector.” On the canvas: a coyote holding two infant children in his arms, a crucifix dangling from his neck. In the background, a fence straddles the Mexican-American border, stretching across the desert into the mountains under a blue sky. The painting, by Valadezza, is part of a group exhibition entitled Lienzos Americanos — at Circle South Gallery, in Fountain Square up through Sept. 26 — and it depicts an episode in the early life of this Indianapolis-based painter. The fact that Valadezza and her brother — both are depicted in the painting — made it across the border unharmed figures into the title, but there are other factors that it addresses as well. [More]