Two Vendors

Media - 1994.95 - SAAM-1994.95_1 - 12471
Copied John M. Valadez, Two Vendors, 1989, pastel on paper, sheet and image: 82 1⁄4 x 50 1⁄2 in. (208.9 x 128.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program and the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.95, © 1989, John M. Valadez

Artwork Details

Title
Two Vendors
Artist
Date
1989
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet and image: 82 1⁄4 x 50 1⁄2 in. (208.9 x 128.3 cm)
Markings
lower right in pencil: J.M. Valadez 1989
Copyright
© 1989, John M. Valadez
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program and the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums
Mediums Description
pastel on paper
Classifications
Keywords
  • Group
  • Figure group — male
  • Figure female — head
  • Occupation — vendor
  • Object — toy — doll
Object Number
1994.95
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1994.95

Artwork Description

When Valadez established his studio on Broadway Street in downtown Los Angeles, this busy thoroughfare became a recurring subject of stylish Chicanos traversing the commercial district. Here he presents a scene of two vendors competing for the attention of female shoppers. The baroque profusion of detail, which implies the complexity of everyday life, juxtaposes images of spiritual longing, female rapture, and commercial fulfillment.

Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art, 2013
Description in Spanish

Cuando Valadez estableció su estudio en la calle Broadway del centro de Los Ángeles, esta vía muy transitada se convirtió en un tema recurrente de su obra. Con frecuencia basaba sus cuadros hiperrealistas en fragmentos tomados de sus propias fotografías de chicanos elegantes que atravesaban el distrito comercial. Aquí presenta una escena de dos vendedores compitiendo por la atención de las clientas. La profusión barroca de detalles, que alude à la complejidad de la vida cotidiana, yuxtapone imágenes de anhelos espirituales, éxtasis femenino y logro comercial.

Nuestra América: la presencia latina en el arte estadounidense, 2013

Exhibitions

Media - 2011.12 - SAAM-2011.12_1 - 77591
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art
October 24, 2013–March 2, 2014
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art presents the rich and varied contributions of Latino artists in the United States since the mid-twentieth century, when the concept of a collective Latino identity began to emerge.

Related Posts

Media - 1994.95 - SAAM-1994.95_1 - 12471
"Our America" Exhibition
10/11/2012
Preparing for Our America: John Valadez’s Great American Streets
In this blog post Curatorial Assistant Florencia Bazzano-Nelson comments on John Valadez's Two Vendors, an intense and large-scale pastel that will be featured in the upcoming 2013 exhibition Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art. Like other works in the exhibition, this work demonstrates the masterful ways in which Latino artists—many born and/or raised in large cities in California, New York and beyond—have drawn inspiration from America's urban streets.
Florencia Bazzano-Nelson