Reina Mariana 33

In his sculptures, collages and graphic art, Manolo Valdés frequently explores icons of art history. During his time in the Equipo Crónica artists‘ group he already combined the Pop Art strategy of using widely known images with socio-political critique. Later, Valdés refined his individual style. He takes details from famous paintings and lets individual figures such as those from Diego Velázquez‘s “Las meninas” or from his portrait of Queen Mariana of Austria (1652/53) appear three-dimensionally as sculptures. The artist translates the model into his unmistakable visual language, at times by sculpting the “Reina Mariana” from wood or stone, at times by casting her in synthetic resin or bronze. He abstracts the figure, whereby the characteristic silhouette with its sweeping skirt and piled-up hair always remains recognizable. Valdés says: “It is like a game that consists of changing the code and the key to the artwork…”.
Manolo Valdés is one of the most important protagonists of 20th-century Spanish art. His works have been exhibited worldwide, and his Velázquez-inspired sculptures have been shown in public spaces of cities including New York, Singapore, Paris and Venice. In 1999 Valdés represented Spain at the Venice Biennale.