Spanish Artist in His Studio

Description

EL ARTISTA EN SU TALLER by Kosme de Baranano and Jean Marie del Moral, 2003. 140 pages, quarto format, linen cardboard binding. Fine copy. Manolo Valdés (born Manuel Valdés Blasco, March 8, 1942, Valencia, Spain) is a Spanish painter and sculptor who received the National Prize for Fine Arts in 1983 and the Gold Medal for Services to Fine Arts in 1998 from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. A master of drawing, painting, sculpture, and engraving, Valdés demonstrates technical skill, originality, and provocation in all disciplines. He began his artistic training at age 15 at the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts in Valencia. In 1964, he co-founded Equipo Crónica with Rafael Solbes and Joan Toledo, engaging with Francisco Franco's dictatorship through pop art. After the group dissolved in 1981, Valdés reinvented himself, drawing heavily on Spanish artistic heritage, particularly Velázquez, and the informalism of Millares, Saura, and Tàpies. Using etching, screen printing, and collage, his prints reference these and other masters including Rembrandt, Rubens, and Matisse, creating intellectual resonance by displacing important historical works from their original contexts. Valdés now lives and works in New York and Madrid. His works are held in major international collections including the Guggenheim Bilbao, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Centre Pompidou, Reina Sofía, and MoMA New York.