Manolo Valdes Spanish, b. 1942

Manolo Valdés is one of the most important and respected contemporary artists, and one of the few living artists today who has succesfully mastered the disciplines of drawing, painting, sculpture, and printmaking. In each medium he proves to be technically skilled, highly original, and unceasingly provocative. Born in Valencia, Spain, in 1942, Manolo Valdés was a founding member of Equipo Cronica, the highly influential Spanish Pop Art group of the 1960s. After the group disbanded in 1981, Valdés commenced a succesful solo career. Renowned for his passion for past masters from Zurbarán to Velazquez. Matisse to Lichtenstein. Valdés uses their creations "as a pretext" (como pretexto) to create an entirely new aesthetic object. The artist lives and works in New York and Miami.