Nohra Haime Gallery is pleased to present Elemental Ascendant, a spring exhibition revisiting paintings by Valerie Hird, on view from April 9 through May 2 in New York City.
Hird created her own myths, reflecting upon the essence and grandeur of the earth we live in and based on four elements – Sea, Sky, Wind and Land. Each gives rise to the other and together they form a collective and unified whole, ascending to become an ethereal mythology..
In the series Sea Myth, 2011, comprised of four pieces executed in oil, Hird incorporates forms suggesting the undulating rhythms of the ocean and the congruous undulations of the clouds and wind. Translucent veils, bands of color, and fields of light appear to be floating and ever-changing. A strand of birds depicted in profile within yin/yang diagrams delineates the edge of each work. This iconography is a metaphor for the interconnectedness and interdependence of the Sea and the Sky; with birds being the liaison and continuity between one element and another.
Keeping with her signature style inspired by the imagery she gets from her travels, Hird borrows gestures and methods from different cultures and traditions, modifies them, and integrates them into her work. Sources can be found in the Middle East or Far East mysticism. In portraying the earth before it was inhabited by man in First Land, 2010, Hird incorporates iconography from Kazak textiles. In First People, 2010, the artist shows a female figure, Romanian, dating from the 5th millennium BC.
In this manner, Hird creates her personal mythology, a world of balance based on a unified system that ascends the elements. The collective result is an intricate landscape of symbols, experiences, dreams, and meditations; an oeuvre meant to be experienced and reflected upon.
About the Artist
In 2008 Hird was granted an award from the Community Foundation of Vermont. She has exhibited widely in the United States and abroad. Her work belongs to such public and corporate collections as The Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI, The Fleming Museum, Burlington, VT, The Exxon Corporation, Dallas, TX, Pfizer Inc., among others. Born in Massachusetts in 1955, Hird moved to Vermont in 1979, where she currently lives and works.
MORE INFORMATION
art@nohrahaimegallery.com / gallery@nohrahaimegallery.com
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VALERIE HIRD:
ELEMENTAL ASCENDANT
April 9th - May 2nd 2026
ALLERY.