Teen Artist Andres Valencia Lands Museum Solo With 'Profiles in Color'
“I want people to know that art and expression has no age limit.”
Summary
- The exhibition brings together more than a dozen large-scale portraits at the Nassau County Museum of Art
- Among the exhibition’s standout works is “El Mariachi,” a painting that has already become emblematic of his practice
At just 14 years old, Andres Valencia is preparing for a milestone that many artists don’t reach until decades into their careers: a solo museum exhibition. Opening March 21, 2026, Profiles in Color: The Paintings of Andres Valencia marks the California-based painter’s first solo presentation in the tri-state region at the Nassau County Museum of Art
Earlier this year, Valencia expanded his practice into printmaking through a collaboration with Mourlot Editions, the historic Paris studio known for producing editions with artists including Pablo Picasso, marking a significant step in the young artist’s growing engagement with art history and traditional publishing.
The exhibition brings together more than a dozen large-scale portraits that showcase Valencia’s now-recognizable language: fractured anatomy, bold color, and expressive figures that nod to art-historical touchstones while remaining distinctly contemporary. Cubist echoes surface alongside playful distortion, with faces and bodies pulled apart and reassembled through sharp line and saturated hues.
For Valencia, the show is less about proving technical ability and more about making a broader point about creativity itself. “I want people to know that art and expression has no age limit. Young and old people can be creative,” he says. “I express myself with paint and I want people to enjoy and be inspired also.” The museum setting, he adds, “allows me to reach more people and continue my journey of inspiring.”
“I have always imagined this moment, but didn’t know it would arrive this soon.”
That journey has accelerated quickly. Valencia credits a wide circle of supporters for helping him reach this moment, noting that the opportunity still feels surreal. “I have always imagined this moment, but didn’t know it would arrive this soon,” he says. Standing inside the Nassau County Museum, he saw a natural home for his work. “This is the perfect place for my solo exhibition. It’s very exciting.”
Among the exhibition’s standout works is “El Mariachi,” a painting that has already become emblematic of his practice. The piece draws from traditional performance attire, exaggerated through Valencia’s signature palette and scale. “The cotton canvas was so large, I had to use a ladder to paint the hat on my character,” he recalls. Built with oil pastels and acrylic paint, the work evolved over time. “At one point I thought I was done, but a couple of days later I thought it needed more colors, so I splashed several colors on the side of my character. At that point I knew it was finally done.”
Color, for Valencia, is not decorative but structural. His recurring symbols and fragmented figures emerge intuitively, often fully formed in his mind before hitting the canvas. “These are visuals that just come to my mind, I see them in my mind and put them onto a canvas,” he explains. “The color palette helps give these figures life.”
“It’s not like work where you would spend a certain amount of hours, it all depends on how I feel at the moment.”
Outside the studio, Valencia’s influences extend beyond painting alone. Music plays constantly while he works, spanning decades and genres. “I often go into my studio and play loud music that inspires me,” he says, noting a mix of 1960s tracks and contemporary sounds. Online platforms have also shaped his education. “I watch YouTube a lot, that is where I have learned so much about the artists that inspire me, like Picasso and Modigliani.”
Despite growing international attention, Valencia’s daily routine remains grounded. School fills his weekdays, while evenings and weekends are reserved for painting. Inspiration, however, doesn’t follow a schedule. “It’s not like work where you would spend a certain amount of hours, it all depends on how I feel at the moment,” he says. Ideas can strike at any time, sending him back to the studio late at night or mid-day.
Perhaps the most unexpected response to his work has been how widely it has traveled beyond galleries. “I have mostly been surprised how so many schools around the world have used my artworks in classrooms, recreating them in classrooms,” Valencia says. “When I get messages from schools it makes me want to keep creating.”
As the exhibition opens its doors in March, it offers a snapshot of an artist early in his journey, already thinking far beyond the moment at hand.
