Manuela Valenti is an Italian-American contemporary artist, fashion model, psychopedagogist and business woman. Valenti's Italian born parents migrated to Venezuela, South America looking for a better life after WWII. She was introduced to the art world early on in her life by her mother, a watercolor artist and gemologist. From early on she became mesmerized by the works of important world renowned Venezuelan artists like Carlos Cruz Diez and Jesús Soto whom influenced her becoming integral part in the development of her artistic career.
In 1999 Valenti, her husband and their 2 kids along with their 2 German Brakkos moved to Atlanta, Georgia. This change impacted her art career tremendously and Valenti soon finds herself under the wings of important art dealers in the USA and Europe and selling her works with the aid of the internet as far as France, Spain, New Zealand, Italy, Japan, Australia, Canada, Hawaii and Brazil among many other countries.
In 2004, a year after welcoming the birth of their 3rd child Valenti, her husband and now 3 kids moved to the Basque Country in Spain. While in Spain, Valenti travels throughout France, Spain, Italy and Croatia gathering inspiration for her landscapes while satisfying important European landscape and abstract collectors from around the world. She exhibits during the Biennale of Venice in 2004 and participates in many other exhibitions while in Europe. Back to the US in early 2006, Valenti lands in Detroit, Michigan from where she currently works.
Valenti soon becomes one of the most influential artists and the first artist in the world to ever have her own line of skin care products and Eau de Perfume. In early 2007 Valenti founded By Valenti Organics the first ever line of Artist Designed and Formulated Skin Care products in the world. In 2010 Valenti launches URBAN the first Artist Designed Eau de Perfume.
Valenti's inspiration is found in the everyday situations and experiences, mainly focusing on capturing daily scenes and landscapes inspired by her trips throughout Europe for which she's most recognized for. Travels, people, family, her kids and pets are integral part of this never ending world that surrounds her which brings the necessary sparkle for her creations. Fascinated by how humans interact and emotions, Valenti is able to transform what she lives and experiences into the works the viewer connects with. With a vibrant palette filled with daring colors Valenti takes the viewer through a conveyor of images and emotions in a variety of subject matters.
Valenti's work was introduced in the United States in early 2000 and since then has gained international recognition. Her works hang in over 1500 private and corporate collectors in the USA, Canada, Venezuela, Spain, Italy, France, UK, Ireland, Brazil, Colombia, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and Japan among others. She has been published in numerous magazine articles in the US and Europe. Most recently her Biography was published in the Who's Who in America 2008-2009-2010 and published in Who's Who of American Women 2009, 2010. She has shown on internationally renowned exhibitions as the Art Basel Miami, 2009, High Point Market, the world's home for home decor, High Point NC 2008, New York ArtExpo 2008, Mac21 International Contemporary Art Fair in Marbella, Spain in 2002 and the Biennial of Venice in 2004 along with participating in solo and group exhibits in prestigious galleries as the Art Aldo in Chicago, Starkweather Art Gallery in Michigan, Lawrence Street Gallery in Michigan, and The Logan & Moore Gallery in Connecticut, among many others. She's also made local tv appearances and has been published in numerous prestigious magazines, e-zines, and newspapers around the US and Spain. She's featured 3 times in American Art Collector, one of the most prestigious art magazines in the US. In late 2007 Valenti launches her new line of Museum Quality Giclee Prints from some of her abstracts and impressionist works, which are offered directly from her studio/gallery, art dealers and galleries around the US, Canada and Europe. Valenti has also licensed the images of some of her works used in a variety of products and merchandise including the FlipMino Camcorders, posters sold directly at Art.com, high end marble and granite backsplashes among many others. She's currently represented by Peters Street Gallery in Atlanta and RDZ Fine Art in Miami.
In 2009, Valenti was hit with the first death of the many she would suffer in a span of 8 years. The passing of her mother in law was as she put it "the beginning of the end of my creativity". In 2010 Valenti received the news her father whom was living in Italy had passed away due to the inoperable brain tumor that had metastasized from a lung cancer that was never treated. In 2011 she received another emotional hit when her brother in law, her husbands only brother, would die from complications due to a kidney transplant operation. In 2012 Valenti lost her beloved dog named Pongo, a 3 year old Newfoundland, and Valenti's 4th four legged son. A month later loosing their 12 year old Persian cat, named Lucky, who they had adopted for their oldest son right after moving to the US. Three years later on April 2015, Valenti would find her 16 year old special needs daughter Dani dead in her bedroom, from sudden death syndrome. Valenti's life at that point completely shattered finished crumbling after the death of her mother in May 2017. Valenti has referred as her being completely broken and impossible to see and feel the beauty and passion she once had.
In February 2019 Valenti decided to return back to painting for her, her galleries and collectors, "In all this I've lost the best part of me, my beloved daughter. I am a broken mother, always pretending to be ok. I don't know if I have the strength, the inspiration and the passion after all for painting. But I cannot keep remaining in this dark hole. It will be hard to start again, that I know." It's hard to tell the impact such a long and shattering break would have on her work.
2010
Published in the February Issue of American Art Collector.
Published in the April Issue of American Art Collector.
Solo exhibition at the Peters Street Gallery, in Atlanta GA. February 12 March 13
2009
Marquis Who's Who in America
Open Studio
Show, October 24
Appearance in the American Art Collector December issue.
Art Basel Miami and Miami Art Magazine Exhibition, December 2-6
Little Things Mean a Lot, Lawrence St. Gallery, Juried Exhibition, Ferndale, MI,
December 2-26
2008
highpoint MARKET, the world's home for home
decor, Highpoint NC, April 7-13
New York Art Expo SOLO pavilion, Booth #211,
New York, February 28 - March 03
Artist of the Month, City Hall of Sterling Heights,
City of Sterling Heights, MI February 1-22
Channel 5 Detroit TV interview, which
was aired during the newscasts February 11
Marquis Who's Who in America
Little
Things Mean a Lot, Lawrence St. Gallery, Juried Exhibition, Ferndale, MI, December
4-26
2007
Little Things Mean a Lot, Lawrence St. Gallery, Juried
Exhibition, Ferndale, MI, December 5-28
Christmas Extravaganza, Starkweather
Art Gallery, Juried Exhibition, Romeo, MI, November - December
Manuela Valenti
& David Hilty, Duo Exhibit at the Starkweather Art Gallery, Romeo, MI, April 05
- 27
A World of Color, Solo exhibition at the Studio23 Art Gallery, Bay City,
MI, January 26, February 25
Article/interview by Alyice Eldrick for
The Dabbling Mum
Art Showcase Magazine - issue September/October
"A Burst
of Color Awaits in New Studio23 Exhibit", by Amy Jo Johnson, The Bay City Times
The Artist Magazine - second cover - May, 2007
2006
Christmas
Extravaganza, Starkweather Art Gallery, Juried Exhibition, Romeo, MI, November 08
- December 23
Lawrence St. Gallery, Juried Exhibition, Ferndale, MI, October
3 - October 27
Earth Works Art Gallery, Geneva, NY, group exhibition August 03
- August 31
Art4Critters group Exhibition, Overton Frameworks, Alabama, April
1st-April 30
"Artist Brings Taste of Europe to Michigan" by Sarah Cormier, C&G
Newspapers, November 15
Featured Artist of the Week -
www.123soho.com
2005
Projekt 30 (Juried Exhibition), New York, New York
Medial
1. art biennial, Group Exhibition, Art Addiction Medial Museum, UK
2004
II Biennale di Arte Contemporanea di Venezia, Sept. 02 - Oct. 02
Featured Artist
ArtSENSE - Oct. 13th
2002
Hispanic Heritage Month, Southern Polytechnic
State University in Marietta, GA, September 12
Olde Town Fall Art Festival, Conyers,
GA USA
Southern Heartland Art Festival, Conyers, GA
Mac21 Feria Internacional
del Arte Contemporaneo Marbella, Spain
