JESS VALICE

In a striking trajectory from aspiring neuroscientist to distinguished self-taught artist, Valice’s work considers themes of identity, isolation, and psychological nuance through a unique lens that draws upon both scientific and art historical influences.

Practice

Valice’s large-scale oil paintings and drawings are best known for their distinctive, big-eared, doe-eyed subjects, sometimes bearing cartoonish exaggeration. These figures, often sharing physical likenesses with the artist herself, become vessels of ambiguity: their vacant or weary expressions evoke both resilience and vulnerability, inviting projection and empathic connection. Valice skilfully blends romanticism and the forlorn, the sacred and the irreverent, within a muted but compelling colour palette.

Although her subjects often appear emotionless, there is an underlying narrative of chosen solitude, introspective discomfort, or quiet strength. The artist incorporates contemporary motifs—like branded apparel or everyday objects—to situate her characters in the present day. References to social media, group dynamics, and memory further layer the work, as figures are amalgamations of people encountered online, in books, and in her own life. Her visual language has been compared to the dramatic forms of Fernando Botero, the distortions of Pablo Picasso, and the psychological tension of Renaissance portraiture.

Background

Born in 1996 in Los Angeles, California, and raised in the San Fernando Valley, Jess Valice initially studied art in school before pursuing neuroscience at Santa Barbara City College. After three years, her fascination with brain science and its relationship to creativity led her back to painting. She refined her practice independently, ultimately establishing a studio at Mohilef Studios in Downtown LA, where she continued to evolve her approach surrounded by emerging and established artists.

In a profile on ArtNet, Vine said, ‘As an artist, I was just starting out. I was next to an artist who has been making clay works for a long time and I was also next to Austyn Weiner, who is already showing and doing incredible things. And this is her third studio. Austyn was a very supportive studio neighbor and friend and would bring her studio visits into my studio and introduce me. That was the pivot, I mean, that’s how everything really went up from there.’

Exhibitions and Representation

Jess Valice’s work has been featured in a number of group shows as well as solo shows, at ATM Gallery NYC in New York, Carl Kostyál Gallery in Milan, and at Bill Brady Gallery, Los Angeles and Miami respectively. Almine Rech has also shown her work in New York and in Paris.

Her major solo exhibitions include:

• Human at Carl Kostyal, London (2022)
• Arrhythmia at Stems Gallery, Paris (2023)
• Mara at Almine Rech, New York (2024)
• Home is Not a Place at Almine Rech, Paris, 2025

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Ocula | 2025