If we had to highlight two major references as a constant source of inspiration in the work of Manolo Valdés, they would be, firstly, the dialogue he has established throughout his career with the History of Art and, secondly, New York city – where he has lived since 1988.
“Eating things to keep them alive.” This statement by Picasso perfectly sums up Valdés’ attitude towards the History of Art, as he has made this relationship with the past the central focus of his creation, as we can see in the many works that have taken their inspiration from the great masters such as Velázquez, Ribera, Matisse and Picasso himself. He has viewed these works throughout his life on his regular visits to museums such as the Prado in Madrid and the Metropolitan Museum in New York. This was already evident in his early days as a member of Equipo Crónica, a group of artists who began their career in Spain in the 1960s and who developed their own style. This had some of the characteristics of pop art but with its own unmistakable features, such as social criticism and a focus on the artists of the Golden Age of Spanish painting.
Valdés recalls one of his first visits to New York and the effect that what he saw there had on his work: “I came across a work by Rauschenberg that had some boats hanging on it, and I came across a Rauschenberg with a stuffed chicken in it. So, I asked myself, what are we talking about? It turns out that there are artists who don’t paint with paint tubes and I saw Soulages who threw a bucket of black paint on the canvas and spread it about with a piece of wood, and I realised there are people who don’t paint with a paintbrush. Then I discovered materials at the same time as I discovered freedom because I realised that there were no rules because you set the rules yourself. And since then, I have had a great passion for materials. I make them for myself, as many people do. I make my own oil. When I want a stain to spread, I put in more oil. When I want the pigment to be purer, I prepare it in a different way. I work with wood and look for wood that suits me because of its colour or its weathering as well as its shape. I am very interested in materials “1.
The physical centre of his studio in New York, where he has lived since 1988, is the place where Manolo Valdés works on his large-format paintings, surrounded by boxes full of painted pieces of wood that were once filled with pieces of coloured cloth. These works, like his works on burlap, also contain large globs of pigment, paint stains, marks made by pots placed on the painting… and, as Valdés explains, his discovery of the great American masters changed his way of understanding art: “Pollock taught me that a drip can be acceptable and can be interesting and important, so I am no longer afraid when a drip falls “.
His looking to the past has been combined with a constant looking around at his immediate surroundings, and it is here that New York City has taken on great significance. Valdés says that he once saw butterflies during a walk in Central Park that reminded him of the butterflies painted by Matisse and, from then on, he began to find butterflies in other paintings in the Metropolitan Museum, in the shop windows of Madison Avenue and on the scarves worn by the ladies he passed on Fifth Avenue. Valdés is a true hunter of images, who incorporates almost everything he sees into his work.
These butterflies were the focus of a large part of the exhibition that the Hortensia Herrero Foundation organised at the City of Arts and Sciences in 2017. Visitors could vote on which of the six monumental sculptures was their favourite. The winner was “The Pamela Hat”, followed by “Butterflies” and “Butterfly”. Hortensia Herrero decided to donate the winning scupture to the city of Valencia and the other two to Castellón and Alicante, respectively.
These butterflies were the focus of a large part of the exhibition that the Hortensia Herrero Foundation organised at the City of Arts and Sciences in 2017. Visitors could vote on which of the six monumental sculptures was their favourite. The winner was “The Pamela Hat”, followed by “Butterflies” and “Butterfly”. Hortensia Herrero decided to donate the winning scupture to the city of Valencia and the other two to Castellón and Alicante, respectively.
