The Patty & Jay Baker Naples Museum of Art presents an exhibition of work by Manolo Valdes, on view December 6, 2011 – Sunday, March 25, 2012.
Manolo Valdés, Retrato de una Dama con Collar, 2009, Mixed media on canvas, 76.8 x 70.9 inches © Manolo Valdés, courtesy Marlborough Gallery, New York
Internationally renowned Spanish master Manolo Valdés is a pioneer in the fields of painting, sculpture, drawing and printmaking. In each medium, he has shown himself to be technically skilled, highly original and unceasingly provocative. Valdés introduced to Spain a form of expression that combined political and social concerns with humor and irony.
Born in Valencia, Spain in 1942, Valdés began his training as a painter at the age of 15 when he entered the Fine Arts Academy of San Carlos in Valencia. In 1964, Valdés, Rafael Solbes and Joan Toledo collaborated to form Equipo Crónica, an artistic team that utilized Pop Art to question the Spanish dictatorship of Francisco Franco and the history of art itself. After the group dissolved in 1981, Valdés reinvented himself, drawing heavily on Spanish heritage, including the work of Diego Velázquez.
Today Valdés lives and works in New York and Madrid. His work can be found in many of the world’s leading museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Internacional Rufino Tamayo in Mexico City and many others. – www.thephil.org