Val Britton (born 1977 in

Livingston, New Jersey Livingston is a township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 31,330, its highest United States census, decennial co ...

) is an American artist, best known for her works on paper and installations. She creates abstract collage works using paper and other mixed media that reference the language of maps, network diagrams and astronomical photography. She lived in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

for 14 years, and as of 2018, she lives in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington.

Biography

Val Britton was born in 1977 in

, her father was a long haul truck driver. She has said in interviews, when she was young her father died and that has influenced the visual language of her work. She received her B.F.A. in Printmaking in 1999 from

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. After RISD she moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, and in 2004 she moved to San Francisco to attend graduate school. Britton received her M.F.A. from California College of the Arts (CCA) in 2006. In 2010, Britton served at the Artist in Residence Program at

Recology Recology Inc., formerly known as Norcal Waste Systems, is an American waste management company headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company collects and processes municipal solid waste, reclaiming reusable materials. The company also o ...

San Francisco and produced an exhibition called ''Index to Selected Stars''. ''Index to Selected Stars'' featured collage work made with various types of tape, inks and various types of found paper. In 2014, Gallery Wendi Norris in San Francisco presented Val Britton's first San Francisco gallery solo show entitled ''Passage''.

Exhibitions

This is a list of select exhibitions by Val Britton, in order by descending year.

Group shows

* 2010 – ''Index to Selected Stars'', Recology San Francisco Artist-in-Residence Program, San Francisco * 2012 – CES Contemporary, Laguna Beach * 2012 – ''Here Be Dragons: Mapping Information and Imagination,''

Intersection for the Arts Intersection for the Arts, established in 1965, is the oldest alternative non-profit art space in San Francisco, California. Intersection's reading series is the longest continuous reading series outside of an academic institution in the state o ...

, San Francisco * 2013 – ''Intimate Immensity,'' San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), San Jose * 2015 – ''Frontyard / Backyard'',

Palo Alto Art Center The Palo Alto Art Center is a multi-purpose center open to the public for art activities for all ages, located at 1313 Newell Road in Palo Alto, California, Palo Alto, California. It is managed by the City of Palo Alto, California, Palo Alto, ...

, Palo Alto * 2015–2016 – ''Work In Progress: Investigations South of Market at

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) is a multi-disciplinary Contemporary art, contemporary arts center in San Francisco, California, United States. Located in Yerba Buena Gardens, YBCA features visual art, performance, and film/video that cel ...

,'' San Francisco * 2016 – ''Djerassi: A Legacy exhibition'', Ascent Private Capital Management, San Francisco

Solo shows

* 2012–2013 – ''The Continental Interior'' (Solo Show), San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, San Francisco * 2013 – ''Terra incognita'' (Solo Show), CES Contemporary, Laguna Beach * 2013 – ''Cosmology'' (Solo Show), Foley Gallery, New York * 2014 – ''Passage'' (Solo Show), Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco * 2016 – ''Transmissions'' (Solo Show), Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco

Permanent collections

* ''Voyage'', located in connecting corridor departures level between domestic Terminals 1 and 2 (in between Virgin and Delta Airlines),

San Francisco International Airport San Francisco International Airport is the primary international airport for the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. Owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco, the airport has a San Francisco mailing ...

* Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts at

Legion of Honor (museum) The Legion of Honor, formally known as the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, is an art museum located in San Francisco, on the West Side of the city. Located in Lincoln Park, the Legion of Honor is a component of the Fine Arts Museums ...

* New York Public Library * New-York Historical Society * Library of Congress * Alameda County Art Collection * San Jose Museum of Art

Awards

* 2015 – Fleishhacker Foundation, Eureka Fellowship Awardee * 2010 –

Pollock-Krasner Foundation The Pollock-Krasner Foundation was established in 1985 for the purpose of providing funding to visual artists internationally to further their artistic practices. It was established at the bequest of Lee Krasner, who was an American abstract expr ...

Grant

Publications

* Val Britton / Reverberations (Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco), 2016. * Harmon, Katharine. The Map As Art: Contemporary Artists Explore Cartography (Princeton Architectural Press, New York), 2009.

References

External links

Val Britton's official website
* Article
"Exhibits of work by Gyorgy Kepes, Val Britton"
from SF Chronicle, July 2014
KQED Arts: "Art that Makes Missing Your Flight OK"

San Francisco Chronicle: "25 years of turning garbage into art"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Britton, Val Living people 1977 births Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Rhode Island School of Design alumni California College of the Arts alumni American collage artists American women collage artists Artists from San Francisco People from Livingston, New Jersey Artists from New Jersey 21st-century American women artists