In the lead-up to its inaugural Houston edition at the George R. Brown Convention Center, Untitled Art is thrilled to announce the CAMH Commission Prize supported by Untitled Art—a new initiative developed with Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH), one of the fair's esteemed cultural partners. This prize was created with a clear purpose: to provide meaningful support to artists through a major new commission to be presented at Untitled Art, Houston 2026, or through a collateral venue during the fair week.
To make this prize a reality, Untitled Art partnered with the Texas-based artist Vincent Valdez, who is not only one of the most vital and fearless voices in American art today, but the first artist to join the Host Committee for Untitled Art, Houston. In collaboration with Gary Lichtenstein Editions, Valdez has produced a limited-edition print titled It Was A Very Good Year (1986)—an elegant, urgent piece that draws from his continued exploration of the newspaper as both object and symbol. The edition, priced at $2,500, will be released in a print run of just 25 and proceeds from sales will go directly to CAMH to fund the prize.
"As someone who’s spent the last 15 years writing about artists for magazines and newspapers, it was deeply meaningful to work with Vincent on this piece," says Michael Slenske, director for Untitled Art, Houston. "He’s not just one of the most compelling narrative painters working today—he’s also a hardcore news junkie. The idea of a newspaper as a vehicle for memory, resistance, and social commentary resonated instantly for both of us. He’s incorporated printed broadsheets and sculptural newspapers into previous museum shows, including his recent retrospective at CAMH and Mass MOCA so it felt only natural that this would be the format for the inaugural CAMH Commission Prize."
"I create images as instruments, to probe the past in order to examine what is occurring today,” says Vincent Valdez. “I am alarmed by the denial of history and will continue to create counter-images that impede our collective social amnesia. I offer this work as a report - my visual testimony about an epic, unfolding tale of hope, struggle, and survival in contemporary America."
“I’ve been working with Vincent since 2022 and I am continually awestruck by his examination of life in 21st century America. Vincent’s courageous work presents truth and history and also hope,” says Gary Lichtenstein. “This particular project was a bit of a departure for us as we sought to print something that would feel sculptural. It Was A Very Good Year (1986) is composed of 8 pages of prints based on original drawings created by Vincent.”
The selected artist(s) for the 2026 commission will be chosen by CAMH’s curatorial team from among more than 100 exhibiting artists who will participate in Untitled Art, Houston 2025. This ensures that the prize remains closely tied to the Houston arts ecosystem while also aligning with CAMH’s curatorial vision and Untitled Art’s mission to champion forward-thinking, socially engaged work.
This prize launch also aligns with Vincent Valdez: Just a Dream…, the artist’s first major museum survey, which debuted at CAMH and is now on view at Mass MOCA through March 2026. The exhibition spans over 20 years of Valdez’s practice—from early career drawings to recent allegorical portraits—celebrating everyday people from his family and the headlines dominating our political, psychological, and social connections.
Gary Lichtenstein Editions officially releases It Was A Very Good Year (1986) on August 11, available to purchase HERE.
For more information, visit camh.org, untitledartfairs.com, and gleditions.com
About Vincent Valdez
Vincent Valdez (b. 1977, San Antonio, TX) lives and works in Texas. He received a full scholarship to the Rhode Island School of Design, earning his BFA in 2000. He was a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant for Painters and Sculptors (2016), as well as completing residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting (2005), the Vermont Studio Center (2011), the Kunstlerhaus Bethania Berlin Residency (2014), and Joan Mitchell Center (2018). Valdez was the 2019 Artadia awardee in Houston, TX, and a 2020 artist fellow at NXTHVN in New Haven. Recent exhibitions include The Face of Battle: Americans at War, 9/11 to Now, Smithsonian Museum of American Art and National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC; So Different, So Appealing, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA; The City, Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX; Between Play and Grief: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; Suffering from Realness, MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA; and ESTAMOS BIEN: LA TRIENAL 20/21, El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY. The artist has been shortlisted as a finalist for the Smithsonian’s 2022 National Portrait Award. Valdez’s portrait of his grandparents was presented in The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today, a major exhibition premiering at the National Portrait Gallery from April 30, 2022 through Feb. 26, 2023, before traveling to other cities in the United States. He is represented by Matthew Brown Gallery in Los Angeles, CA.
About Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
Established in 1948, CAMH is one of the oldest non-collecting contemporary art museums in the country, and is internationally known for presenting pivotal and landmark work by artists recognized as the most important of the 20th and 21st centuries. CAMH’s mandate is to be present, to connect artists and audiences through the urgent issues of our time, and to adventurously promote the catalytic possibilities of contemporary art. CAMH’s programming, both in and beyond the Museum, is presented free to the public, and advocates for artists’ essential role in society.
About Gary Lichtenstein Editions
Over the course of his remarkable 49-year career, Gary Lichtenstein has produced a wide range of silkscreen editions and multiples with artists including Cey Adams, Charlie Ahearn, Doug Argue, Janette Beckman, Bisa Butler, Roz Chast, Bill Blast, Michael De Feo, Al Diaz, Jane Dickson, Oasa DuVerney, Chris “DAZE” Ellis, Ron English, Danielle Frankenthal, Mako Fujimura, Joanne Greenbaum, Bob Gruen, Gerard Hemsworth, Charles Hinman, Indie184, Alfred Leslie, John “CRASH” Matos, John Miller, Rebecca Miller, Dave Navarro, John Newsom, Eric Orr, Gary Panter, James Prosek, Rubem Robierb, Shelter Serra, Danny Simmons, Duane Slick, Jessica Stockholder, Frederic Tuten, Vincent Valdez and Banks Violette. He has printed for industry legends including Marina Abramovic, Karl Benjamin, Robert Cottingham, Shepard Fairey, FUTURA, Robert Indiana and Ken Price.
Lichtenstein’s prints have been exhibited and collected by, among others, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian, the San Francisco Art Institute, the Chicago Art Institute, the Butler Institute of American Art, the College of Art & Architecture at the University of Tennessee and the Boca Raton Museum of Art. In 2010, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum unveiled Gary Lichtenstein: 35 Years of Screenprinting: a sweeping exhibition of works produced by Lichtenstein over the course of his career. During the spring and early summer of 2023, The Butler Institute of American Art presented, Gary Lichtenstein: Painter and Master Printer. The comprehensive exhibition was a fascinating showcase of the infinite possibilities inspired by the medium of silkscreen printing. Gary Lichtenstein: Painter and Master Printer will travel to the Museum of Art – DeLand where it will be on view from October 3, 2025 to January 4, 2026.