Manolo Valdes

MANOLO VALDÉS (Valencia, 1942).
"Romy II". 2009.
Mixed media (oil, matter and collage) on burlap.
Signed, titled and dated on the back.
Attached certificate of authenticity issued by the artist.
Measurements: 170 x 132 cm; 182 x 145 cm (frame).

The title "Romy" of this painting refers to the iconic actress Romy Schneider, although the model itself is secondary, since the artist does not intend to portray her but to take the motif as an excuse to reinterpret the image of glamour through his plastic, synthetic language, dialoguing with artists of the past (masters of Fauvism and Pop Art, in this case), but confronting that legacy with a revulsive proposal. The flesh-colored scraps that make up the body, together with the blue patchwork to color the model's dress, give her an ambiguous, doll-like character, while the artist freezes in the gesture of the hand a sophisticated gesture. The representation of women is a recurring theme in Valdés' work. Just as he took as a starting point Matisse's muses or Velazquez's Las Meninas to make mutations and permutations of the same model, de Romy has also made several series that start far from the real character to stage a mysterious figure, with large eyes resolved with splashes of intense blue. In 2009, when he signed "Romy II", Valdés was already consolidated as one of the most internationally recognized Spanish artists. At this stage, his work is characterized by formal synthesis, experimentation with textures and reinterpretation of classical iconography. His series of female portraits, in which this work is framed, pays tribute to iconic figures of art and culture. In "Romy II" he combines oil with collage, using scraps to color the dress and the background. The use of burlap as a support is a constant in her work, providing texture and a sense of materiality to the piece. This type of technique is reminiscent of her stage in the Equipo Crónica group, where the use of unconventional materials and the decontextualization of images were key to her artistic language.

Manolo Valdés introduced in Spain a form of artistic expression that combines political and social commitment with humor and irony. He began his training in 1957, when he entered the San Carlos School of Fine Arts in Valencia. However, two years later he abandoned his studies to devote himself fully to painting. In 1964 he founded the artistic group Equipo Crónica, together with Juan Antonio Toledo and Rafael Solbes, in which he remained until the latter's death in 1981, despite the fact that Toledo had left the group two years after its foundation. Since then he has settled in New York, where he currently resides and where he has continued to experiment with new forms of expression, including sculpture. Among the numerous awards Manolo Valdés has received are the Lissone and Biella of Milan, the silver medal of the II International Biennial of Engravings of Tokyo, the award of the Bridgestone Art Museum in Lisbon, the National Prize of Plastic Arts, the medal of the International Festival of Plastic Artists of Baghdad, the Decoration of the Order of Andres Bello in Venezuela, the award of the National Council of Monaco, the Gold Medal of Merit in Fine Arts, the Award of the Spanish Association of Art Critics and the Best Printmaking Artist Award, among others. Formally, Valdés creates a large format work in which lights and colors express tactile values, due to the treatment given to the materials. His work forces the viewer to delve into memory and search for significant images of the history of art. He is represented in some of the most outstanding museums around the world, such as the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Metropolitan, the MoMA and the Guggenheim in New York, the Georges Pompidou Center and the Fons National d'Arts Plastiques in Paris, the Kusnthalle in Hamburg, the Kunstmuseum in Berlin and the Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao, among many others.