Valencia, Spain, 1942

Influenced by Velázquez, Rembrandt, Rubens and Matisse, Manolo Valdés creates a large-format work in which the lights and colors express a feeling of tact for the treatment given to the materials. Her work forces those who observe her to investigate the memory and look for significant images of art history.

In addition to the works exhibited as part of Equipo Crónica, Valdés carried out, between 1965 and 1981, more than 70 exhibitions, both individual and collective. As a sculptor, he is the author of La Dama del Manzanares (2003), a 13-meter-high work located in Parque Lineal del Manzanares (Madrid). In 2005 he carried out the Asturcones sculptural ensemble for the city of Oviedo.

Valdés has received several awards, among which are: the 1965 Lissone and Biella Awards, in Milan (Italy), in 1979, the Silver Medal of the II International Biennial of Prints in Tokyo (Japan) and the Museum of Art Award Bridgestone at Lis'79 in Lisbon (Portugal); in 1983 the National Prize for Plastic Arts; the Alfons Roig Prize, in Valencia; the National Prize for Fine Arts in Spain; in 1986 the Biennial Medal of the International Festival of Plastic Artists, in Baghdad (Iraq) and in 1993 the Decoration of the Order of Andrés Bello in the class of Band of Honor, in Venezuela.

In 2012 he was in charge of designing the poster for the bullfighting season at the Royal Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla