Miami Beach. Through February 28th, 2008.
The City of Miami Beach and Marlborough Gallery present an exhibition of monumental bronze sculptures by the renowned Spanish painter and sculptor, Manolo Valdes. Showcasing nine works by the artist, this exhibition opened on November 3rd, 2007 and will continue through February 28th, 2008.
The exhibition consists of four sculptures depicting female heads, their calm facial composure and structured equilibrium offset rhythmically by dynamic ornamental head-pieces. Two of the four works, all of which measure over thirteen feet high, were recently on display in New York’s Bryant Park. Accompanying these forms are five elegantly imposing figures based on Diego Velázquez’ Reina Mariana from the painting Las Meninas. In these works, Valdes draws inspiration from an art-historical motif, as he does in much of his work, using his own visual language to skillfully play tribute to one of the great masters.
Valdes’ approach to art is to use the past and present "como pretexto." He focuses not on the subject, but on the way the art is created. For Valdes, the subject is simply the first step. As explored in his regal sculptures on Washington Avenue in Miami Beach, his work is about the process and journey in creating the art.
Valdes has received honors and commissions from Italy, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and Venezuela. In 2005, a large exhibition of his sculptures of both Infanta Margarita and Reina Mariana opened to critical acclaim in Paris at the Palais Royal, then traveling to Switzerland and Spain. In 2006, several of these sculptures were featured at the Desert Botanical Garden in Arizona, the first West Coast venue for Valdes’ work. Most recently, a group of Las Meninas were on view during the Helsinki Festival in Finland. In 2002, as part of Parks and Recreation’s public art program, Valdes exhibited a monumental bronze sculpture entitled La Dama on Park Avenue. Currently a traveling exhibition entitled Manolo Valdes: Monumental Sculpture, is on view in Barcelona and will continue to Bilbao and Saragossa in 2008.
For more information, please call: 212.541.4900
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