About the Artist
Valentine Nazarian Wolly was born in Tehran and raised in New York City. She received her undergraduate degree from Queens College before moving to the Washington, DC area, where she later received her Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from the George Washington University. Her works encompass all mediums and have been displayed in galleries in Michigan, Colorado, and Washington, DC, and hang in the permanent collections of the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County, NY, the Children’s National Health System, the Kalamazoo International Airport, the Montgomery County, MD, Department of Recreation, and in numerous private collections.
She explained her approach to capturing the beauty of what she saw: My work centers on connections, interactions, and relationships between figures, objects and environments. My figurative themes are often based in public spaces – city streets, office/studio spaces, museums, airports, train stations and rail facilities. Reflection, repetition, and pattern are recurring elements in a large body of my work. Whatever the subject matter, my primary objective is to capture the essence of a moment in time, rather than every detail. The “subject” may or may not be recognizable; the true subject is the beauty of the combination of movement, color, shape and form.
Artist Statement
Valentine Wolly was the product of two cultures – born in Iran and raised in the United States since the age of seven. She grew up in New York City where she enjoyed the sociability and warmth of a large family in a closely-knit Iranian community. She received her undergraduate degree from Queens College and moved to Washington, DC area where she received her Master of Fine Arts from The George Washington University.
"My work centers on connections, interactions, and relationships between figures, objects and environments. My figurative themes are often based in public places—city streets, office/studio spaces, museums, airports, train stations. Reflection, repetition and pattern are recurring elements in a large body of my work. Whatever the subject matter, my primary objective is to capture the essence of a moment in time rather than every detail. The “subject” may or may not be recognizable; the true subject is the beauty of the combination of movement, color, shape and form."
Education
Queens College, City University of New York, Queens, NY
Masters of Fine Arts, The George Washington University, Washington, DC