About the Event
YoungArts presents Bueno, Bonito, y Barato, a solo exhibition by Paloma Valencia (2015 Visual Arts). This new body of work analyzes and recontextualizes our built environment by focusing on familiar, unassuming spaces that form the backdrop of everyday life in Chicago. The title, a colloquial adage from Valencia’s Cuban-American upbringing meaning “Good, Pretty, and Cheap,” encapsulates the accessible, often unnoticed beauty of these places. Valencia employs traditional printmaking methods, manual architectural drafting, and disposable film photography to document the intricacies and interwoven histories of these sites. Through intentional linework and a multi-layered approach, Valencia renders these storefronts and interiors with the same dedication typically reserved for monuments. Her work invites viewers to observe the built environment and its shaping of culture, preserving impermanent everyday landmarks as a visual archive.
This exhibition will be on view at EXPO Chicago 2025 at Booth 250.
Image: Paloma Valencia, “Hollywood Cleaners,” 2022.