De Wain Valentine, pioneering artist of plastic sculpture, dies at 86

De Wain Valentine, recognized for pioneering the use of plastic in art, has died. He was part of a 1960s California movement employing industrial materials to blend op art, minimalism, and geometric abstraction. Born in Colorado, he moved to Los Angeles in 1965 to teach plastics technology at the University of California. His work quickly appeared in exhibitions like 'Sculpture Of The 60s' at the Los Angeles County Museum Of Art and 'New Sculpture-Shaped Canvas' at California State University. A 1971 piece, Red Concave Circle, exemplifies his approach: a nearly 2.5-meter-tall, semi-transparent red polyester resin slab that suggests a portal while framing its surroundings. His later Grey Column series featured somber yet enigmatic obelisks of the same material. Valentine credited Los Angeles's atmosphere, particularly the thick sea air near his Venice beach home in the 1960s, as a major influence, contrasting it with Colorado's clarity. He described this environment in a 2019 interview with the Brooklyn Rail, noting how the palpable air inspired his work.