Vali & Gianni

To Gianni Menichetti, Vali Myers’ long-time lover and keeper of her wild hidden abode, Vali was the ‘Queen of the Valley’. We know Vali Myers as the charismatic, exotic outsider artist, holding court while lounging on rugs and cushions on the floor of her studio in Melbourne’s Nicholas Building. Gianni fell under her spell when, as a youth, he met her in Italy in 1971 and immediately felt that her blood was in his veins. ‘She had the magic to turn dirt into gold, like a real alchemist’, he recounted.

 

Image:

Eva Collins
Vali Myers, 2001
Digital photograph
Collection of National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.
Gift of the artist, 2003.
Courtesy of the artist.

This is a preview of "Vali & Gianni". The full article can be found in Art + Australia Issue Six.
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Eva Collins

Eva Collins was born in Poland and in 1958 arrived with her family in Melbourne, where she works as an artist. She has published photographs, poetry and travel pieces and exhibited photography and performance videos. With both pen and camera, she likes to capture the essence of things.