Oct 16, 2023, 6:30 PM – 8 PM

Arion Press Artist Talk: Marlon James and Vincent Valdez

Join artist Vincent Valdez and acclaimed novelist Marlon James on Monday, October 16 for a wide-ranging conversation that will center on Arion Press’s forthcoming edition of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five. In 2023, Valdez collaborated with Arion’s team of expert craftspeople to create original pen-and-ink drawings that bring Vonnegut’s darkly comic anti-war classic to life for Arion’s 2023 rendition of the novel. Their conversation exploring the enduring relevance of Vonnegut’s masterpiece will be moderated by Arion’s Executive Director Rolph Blythe.

The Arion Artist Talks are a series of events made possible by the generous support of Agnes Gund.

Rolph Blythe

Rolph Blythe has worked in the publishing industry for over twenty-five years. Prior to joining Arion in 2020 he worked as Publisher of Counterpoint LLC where he oversaw the Counterpoint Press and Soft Skull Press imprints, publishing over 65 original titles a year. He has worked at Basic Books and Graywolf Press in marketing capacities and at the Dunow, Carlson and Lerner Literary Agency as a literary agent. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management.
Marlon James

Marlon James was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1970. He graduated from the University of the West Indies in 1991 with a degree in Language and Literature, and from Wilkes University in Pennsylvania in 2006 with a Masters in creative writing. He won the 2015 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for A Brief History of Seven Killings, making him the first Jamaican author to take home the U.K.’s most prestigious literary award. In the work, James combines masterful storytelling with brilliant skill at characterization and an eye for detail to forge a bold novel of dazzling ambition and scope. In 2018 Marlon James received an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature and in 2019 he was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2019 in the Pioneers category. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota and teaches English and creative writing at Macalester College
Arion Press

Arion Press produces and publishes three artist books a year, each limited to 250 copies for sale, and each conceptually unique and made by hand in their San Francisco facility. Arion’s workshop includes a letterpress shop, a hot-metal type foundry in continuous operation for over 100 years, and a hand book bindery and remains the only printing facility in the country to make books entirely by hand from start to finish under one roof. To date, they have published over 125 limited-edition books featuring such artists as Kenturah Davis, Natalie Frank, William Kentridge, R. B. Kitaj, Christian Marclay, Julie Mehretu, and Kara Walker.
Vincent Valdez

Vincent Valdez was born in 1977 in San Antonio, Texas, and began developing his interest in critical image-making at an early age. His polished execution and singular talent earned him a full scholarship to the Rhode Island School of Design, where he received his B.F.A. in 2000. His work focuses on painting, drawing, and printmaking, often exploring themes of social justice, memory, and ignored or under-examined historical narratives. Valdez is most recognized for his monumental portrayals of contemporary figures. His drawings and painted subjects often remark, in starkly visual ways, on universal struggles within various social and political arenas. Valdez divides his time between Houston and Los Angeles, and his work is represented in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Ford Foundation, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the National Portrait Gallery. In 2023, Valdez was the inaugural King Artist in Residence at Arion Press.