Harley Valentine

Gateways is a luxurious, experimental series of digital photo-sculptural work, deconstructing iconic Paris landscapes on large-scale mirrors. The project dealt with the illusions of a Parisian promised land, every artist’s and hopeless romantic’s fairytale of a creative Elysium.[7] By re-arranging, inverting, and folding in upon themselves iconic Paris landmarks, such as the Champs-Élysées and Pont Neuf, the city and its myth are dissected into its molecular building blocks. Printed on door-sized mirrors[10] using an experimental process, Valentine challenges the viewer to reflect on their own complicity, and desires, in creating the Paris myth.[11]

In 2013, Valentine completed production of his first major public art installation, The Dream Ballet,[12] which is to be unveiled at the Claude Cormier-designed Sony Centre Plaza, in front of Daniel Liebeskind’s L-Tower residence. For Valentine, being awarded this commission was "nothing if not a career-defining project for an artist not yet out of his 20s.[12]"

The project consists of a triptych designed in homage to the National Ballet of Canada's four-decade residence at the site; the three sculptures depict abstracted ballet dancers in various dynamic positions[12][13]

In February 2013, Valentine unveiled his controversial sculpture The North Pole, which plays on themes of aboriginal art and global warming, at the De Luca Fine Arts gallery.[12] For it, Valentine cast in bronze a seven-foot, 100-year-old narwhal tusk.[14] Drawing on a desire to bring attention to the receding arctic ice floes, as well as the controversial decision to re-appropriate a symbol generally reserved for Aboriginal artists, he insisted he " wanted to emphasize that the tusk is a miracle of creation in its own right, not just the source of a luxurious material for doing other things[12]"

Unveiling of Riflessi Monument

Valentine’s Riflessi: Italian Canadian Internment Memorial, was unveiled on Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at the Columbus Centre.[15] The reflective, metal plated monument, standing atop a checkered marble platform,[16] "explores the struggles and successes of the Italian Canadian immigrant story and the Italian Canadian internment history.[15]"

Funded by the government of Canada, the event was attended by Hon. Julian Fantino, Minister of International Cooperation, and former Canadian Senator Hon. Consiglio Di Nino, as well as families of interned Italian-Canadians. The Canadian minister said Valentine’s work helped "us all recognize the experiences of the Italian-Canadian community and ensure that the stories are not lost. This is the reason why today’s unveiling […] is such an important contribution in helping to preserve this part of our national narrative.[17]"

Valentine’s Persephone was the first public sculpture acquired for Humber College's Lakeshore Campus.[18][19] It features a modern interpretation of Persephone, the Greek goddess of Spring. The nine-foot tall sculpture is prominently placed in a high traffic area of the college campus, allowing students and faculty to interact with it.[20] "Sometimes the sculpture adopts a tall, quiet presence, while at other times students purposively interact with it through observance and discussion.[18]"

This outdoor public installation was named as one of the Best Art Shows of 2013[21] by the Huffington Post.

Barbarians is a series of five colorful, abstract metal sculptures installed throughout the grounds of the historic Campbell House Museum in downtown Toronto.[21][22] The show created a stark contrast between the Campbell’s 19th-century architecture and Valentine’s 21st-century sculptures. Inspired by the mythical creatures of ancient Greece, including the Minotaur and Cerberus, the exhibition "raised questions about the collapse and rebirth of civilizations; about creative destruction; and whether the new replaces the old, or the old is the hidden engine of the new.[23]"

This sculpture park was the first of its kind to be created in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough. A co-operative effort with architect David Binder, Valentine transposed the sculptures from the Barbarian series to this residential tower landscape, for this permanent, free public exhibit. The creators of the project both say they were inspired and driven to enliven the urban landscape with this installation.[24]