Artist Anna Valdez shares more about her career and colorful creative process to begin the semester’s Visiting Artist and Designers Series with the public lecture, “Through Observation.” Rescheduled from last semester, her visit takes place at Jay Wassen Idea Loft inside Plaster Free Enterprise Center on March 22 at 5:30 p.m.

“Through Observation” will cover Valdez’s work and artistic practice, which creates a sense of “epic tableaux” through lively colors and patterns that lend a fictional twist to her lush still life scenes and landscapes. Her multidisciplinary practice includes painting, ceramic work, and murals.

Valdez lives and works in Los Angeles, California. She earned an MFA in painting from Boston University in 2013 and a BA in anthropology and art from University of California, Davis in 2009. Valdez’s work has been featured in galleries and exhibitions across the United States and Canada, including: Crystal Bridges Museum, Hashimoto Contemporary in both New York and San Francisco, Parts Gallery Toronto, New Britain Museum of American Art, and North Carolina Museum of Art.

To learn more about Valdez and view more of her work, visit her website or Instagram. Look for an upcoming podcast episode featuring Anna Valdez on the Art + Design Department podcast The Business of Art and Design.

Jay Wassen Idea Loft inside Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center is located at 405 N. Jefferson Avenue, Springfield, Missouri. Visitors can also enter from the west side of the efactory building which is the side with the murals (Boonville-facing). Parking is available in MSU Lot 46. Contact the Department of Art + Design at 417-837-2330 for additional details.

Taylor Ladd is a graduate assistant for the Department of Art + Design. She is working towards her master’s degree in writing at Missouri State University with professional interests in writing about art, culture, and food.