Manolo Valdés Spanish, 1942--

Manolo Valdés is a Spanish artist whose career has been defined by an inventive dialogue with art history, popular imagery and the possibilities of painting and sculpture. Born in Valencia, he became known in the 1960s as a founding member of Equipo Crónica, together with Rafael Solbes and Juan Antonio Toledo during the group's early period. The collective challenged conventional ideas about Spanish art through irony, appropriation and references to historical masterpieces and mass media. Following the dissolution of Equipo Crónica in 1981, Valdés developed a successful independent career. His later work revisits figures and motifs from artists such as Velázquez, Picasso, Matisse and other major masters. He frequently transforms these references through simplified forms, rich textures and unexpected materials. His sculptures often reinterpret the human face using bronze, aluminium, wood and other materials. Valdés has exhibited extensively in Europe, the United States, Asia and Latin America. His work combines historical awareness with a distinctly contemporary visual language. He is now recognised as one of the most internationally established Spanish artists of his generation.