Manolo Valdés

Manuel Valdés Blasco, known as Manolo Valdés (Valencia, March 8, 1942), is a Spanish painter and sculptor living in New York. He was the introducer in Spain of a form of artistic expression that combines political and social commitment with humor and irony.

Influenced by Velázquez, Rembrandt, Rubens and Matisse, Manolo Valdés creates a large-format work in which the lights and colors express a feeling of tactility due to the treatment given to the materials. His work forces those who observe it to delve into memory and search for significant images from the history of art.

In addition to the works exhibited as part of the Crónica Team, Valdés held, between 1965 and 1981, more than 70 exhibitions, both individual and group. As a sculptor, he is the author of La Dama del Manzanares (2003), a 13-meter-high work located in the Parque Lineal del Manzanares (Madrid). In 2005 he carried out the Asturcones sculpture complex for the city of Oviedo.

Valdés has received several awards, among which stand out: in 1965 the Lissone and Biella awards, in Milan (Italy), in 1979, the Silver Medal of the II International Biennial of Engravings in Tokyo (Japan) and the Art Museum Prize Bridgestone at Lis'79 in Lisbon (Portugal); in 1983 the National Prize for Plastic Arts; the Alfons Roig Prize, in Valencia; the National Prize for Fine Arts of Spain; in 1986 the Medal of the Biennial of the International Festival of Plastic Artists, in Baghdad (Iraq) and in 1993 the Decoration of the Order of Andrés Bello in the Honor Band class, in Venezuela.