Description
MANOLO VALDÉS (Valencia, 1942). "Reina Mariana in Art Decó", 1982. Iron and wood. Provenance: Maeght Gallery. Work reproduced in "Manolo Valdés In Cardiff". Measurements: 172,8 x 112 x 27,5 cm. The game of combinations and stylistic permutations and references to the history of art was an inexhaustible source for Manolo Valdés. Here, in this iron and wood sculpture, we are faced with a classic example of this playful spirit: we recognise Queen Mariana of Austria dressed in her court dress with a pompous skirt, just as Velázquez represented her in his day, albeit in an Art Deco version. Thus, the angular, idealised, balanced and proportioned, yet synthetic and essential forms pay homage to Velázquez and make this sculpture a true statement of intent by the Valencian painter, vindicating the role of the great traditional and modern painters in the evolution of the history of art. Manolo Valdés introduced in Spain a form of artistic expression that combines political and social commitment with humour and irony. He began his training in 1957, when he entered the San Carlos School of Fine Arts in Valencia. However, two years later he abandoned his studies to devote himself fully to painting. In 1964 he founded the artistic group Equipo Crónica, together with Juan Antonio Toledo and Rafael Solbes, in which he remained until the latter's death in 1981, despite the fact that Toledo had left the group two years after its foundation. Since then he has settled in New York, where he currently lives and where he has continued to experiment with new forms of expression, including sculpture. Among the numerous awards Manolo Valdés has won are the Lissone and Biella awards in Milan, the silver medal at the II International Biennial of Engravings in Tokyo, the Bridgestone Art Museum prize in Lisbon, the National Prize for Plastic Arts, the medal at the International Festival of Fine Arts in Paris, the International Festival of Fine Arts in Paris, and the National Prize for Sculpture, among others, the medal of the International Festival of Plastic Artists of Baghdad, the Decoration of the Order of Andrés Bello in Venezuela, the prize of the National Council of Monaco, the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts, the Prize of the Spanish Association of Art Critics and the Prize for the Best Print Artist, among others. Formally, Valdés produces a large-format work in which the lights and colours express tactile values, due to the treatment given to the materials. His work forces the viewer to delve into memory and search for significant images from the history of art. He is represented in some of the world's leading museums, such as the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Metropolitan, the MoMA and the Guggenheim in New York, the Centre Georges Pompidou and the Fons National d'Arts Plastiques in Paris, the Kusnthalle in Hamburg, the Kunstmuseum in Berlin and the Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao, among many others.
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MANOLO VALDÉS (Valencia, 1942). "Reina Mariana in Art Decó", 1982. Iron and wood. Provenance: Maeght Gallery. Work reproduced in "Manolo Valdés In Cardiff". Measurements: 172,8 x 112 x 27,5 cm. The game of combinations and stylistic permutations and references to the history of art was an inexhaustible source for Manolo Valdés. Here, in this iron and wood sculpture, we are faced with a classic example of this playful spirit: we recognise Queen Mariana of Austria dressed in her court dress with a pompous skirt, just as Velázquez represented her in his day, albeit in an Art Deco version. Thus, the angular, idealised, balanced and proportioned, yet synthetic and essential forms pay homage to Velázquez and make this sculpture a true statement of intent by the Valencian painter, vindicating the role of the great traditional and modern painters in the evolution of the history of art. Manolo Valdés introduced in Spain a form of artistic expression that combines political and social commitment with humour and irony. He began his training in 1957, when he entered the San Carlos School of Fine Arts in Valencia. However, two years later he abandoned his studies to devote himself fully to painting. In 1964 he founded the artistic group Equipo Crónica, together with Juan Antonio Toledo and Rafael Solbes, in which he remained until the latter's death in 1981, despite the fact that Toledo had left the group two years after its foundation. Since then he has settled in New York, where he currently lives and where he has continued to experiment with new forms of expression, including sculpture. Among the numerous awards Manolo Valdés has won are the Lissone and Biella awards in Milan, the silver medal at the II International Biennial of Engravings in Tokyo, the Bridgestone Art Museum prize in Lisbon, the National Prize for Plastic Arts, the medal at the International Festival of Fine Arts in Paris, the International Festival of Fine Arts in Paris, and the National Prize for Sculpture, among others, the medal of the International Festival of Plastic Artists of Baghdad, the Decoration of the Order of Andrés Bello in Venezuela, the prize of the National Council of Monaco, the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts, the Prize of the Spanish Association of Art Critics and the Prize for the Best Print Artist, among others. Formally, Valdés produces a large-format work in which the lights and colours express tactile values, due to the treatment given to the materials. His work forces the viewer to delve into memory and search for significant images from the history of art. He is represented in some of the world's leading museums, such as the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Metropolitan, the MoMA and the Guggenheim in New York, the Centre Georges Pompidou and the Fons National d'Arts Plastiques in Paris, the Kusnthalle in Hamburg, the Kunstmuseum in Berlin and the Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao, among many others.
