Paintings & Sculptures: The Recent Work of Manolo Valdés
One of the most significant Spanish artists of the last century, Manolo Valdés returns to the UK for his first solo exhibition in over 10 years. Presented by Marlborough Fine Art, the display brings together recent paintings, sculptures and works on paper that explores the artist’s unique and distinct visual language.
Valdés began his training as a painter at the age of 15 in Valencia, during the During the 1960s, he formed Equipo Crónica, an artistic team that used Pop Art to question the Spanish dictatorship of Franco and the history of art itself. After the group dissolved in 1981, Valdés reinvented his work creating the figurative, expressive style centered on art historical motifs, which he continues to be known for today. Valdés works across drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture. The artist lives between New York and Madrid and has exhibited extensively around the world, including representing Spain at the Venice Biennale in 1999.
Using his immense knowledge of art history, Valdés draws heavily on masters such as Velázquez, Rembrandt, Rubens and Matisse. He uses their practice as a pretext to bring significant historical works out of their original context and into the present. His figurative paintings combine materials such as thickly applied oil paint and hessian sacking, using a collage-like technique of cutting and sewing onto the canvas in relief. While perhaps best known for his prolific paintings, sculpture has been an integral part of the artist’s practice since his early career. Working in wood, aluminium, bronze and iron, Valdés’ sculptures reflect his aesthetic proposition as one of the most personal and thoughtful voices to address the history of art on the international scene.
Marlborough Fine Art, 10 June - 16 July 2016
6 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4BY
Image courtesy Marlborough Fine Art, London
