From his audacious Pop art paintings that challenged Spanish dictator Francisco Franco’s regime during the 1960s to his modern reinterpretation of works by masters such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, Valencia native Manolo Valdés has created an extraordinary range of work. He is internationally renowned as one of the most influential Spanish artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Born in 1942, Valdés studied art at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Carlos de Valencia. As his career began to take shape, in 1964, Valdés cofounded Equipo Crónica with fellow Spanish artists Rafael Solbes and Juan Antonio Toledo. Together, the collective produced politically charged graphic Pop works, which frequently merged imagery that referenced Spain’s history and culture, in order to expressly denounce Franco’s oppressive government. Toledo left Equipo Crónica after one year, and the group disbanded after Solbes’s death in 1981.
From 1981 onward, Valdés focused on his solo career. In his portraits, still-life prints and figurative sculptures, Valdés adopts familiar images from masterpieces by some of the world’s most recognizable artists, including Diego Velázquez, Peter Paul Rubens and Roy Lichtenstein, and recontextualizes them, minimalizing forms and the use of color, introducing collagist elements and more. Examples of Valdés’s methods can be seen in the textured lithograph print Claribel (1995) and his contemporary sculpture Butterflies (2010), which is inspired by Matisse’s Woman with a Hat (1905).
Valdés has exhibited his works around the world, including in New York City, Paris, London, Madrid, Berlin, Geneva and Mexico City. In 1999, he represented Spain at the Venice Biennale. His paintings and sculptures are also held in the collections of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Moderna Museet in Malmö, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of original Manolo Valdés prints, sculptures and mixed media.
Reina Mariana Set of 4 Porcelain Sculptures, Abstract, 2010-
By Manolo Valdés
Located in New York, NY
The specific information regarding edition will be provided at the time of sale. Please contact the seller for more details. ‘Las Meninas’ is a series of porcelain sculptures by Man...
Porcelain
Tribute to Jean Arp
By Jean Arp
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Tribute to Jean Arp. This decorative piece has been painted by hand on glazed porcelain with an intense red color. Jean Arp Sargadelos Porcelain Vase. last quarter 20th Century sign...
Porcelain
$2,450
H 17 in W 12 in D 7 in
Vessel in White and Gold - No 119, Contemporary Abstract Ceramic Sculpture
By Beverly Morrison
Located in Boston, MA
Vessel in White and Gold - No 119, Abstract Ceramic Sculpture, 2022 17" x 12" x 7" (HxWxD) This ceramic vessel is formed in an organic shape, with its rounded shape almost resemblin...
Clay, Porcelain, Stoneware
$575
H 13 in W 13 in D 2 in
Bronze Platter with Metallic Pewter Center, Abstract Sculpture, 2021
By Lois Sattler
Located in Boston, MA
Artist Commentary: Bronze Platter with metallic pewter center. Medium: ceramic porcelain. Size: 13 inch diameter and 2 inches deep (33 cm diameter and 5 cm deep). Made in California,...
Ceramic, Porcelain
Black Crush - Black Ceramic Porcelain Vase
By Mary Jaffe
Located in East Quogue, NY
"Black Crush" Porcelain sculptural vase with black satin glaze. Size: 11.5 x 6.5 x 6.5 Porcelain, ceramic, ceramic sculpture, functional sculpture, functional vessel, vessel, cerami...
Porcelain, Glaze
$550
H 4.5 in W 3.5 in D 3 in
Green Celadon Ribbed Porcelain Textured Ceramic Vessel with Fold
By Mary Jaffe
Located in East Quogue, NY
Ribbed texture porcelain vessel with fold, green celadon glaze Size: 4.5” H x 3-1/2”x 3” Mary Jaffe creates functional and sculptural ceramics inspired by vast landscapes and the s...
Porcelain, Glaze
Space and Time I : small interior sculpture out of clay
By Katie Yang
Located in New York, NY
Katie Yang's abstract ceramic sculptures delve into the unknowable nature of our world, exploring the interplay between control and chance. Influenced by artistic traditions from bot...
Porcelain
$1,500
H 10 in Dm 10 in
Limited Edition numbered Italian Blue Ceramic Plate for Dallas Texas restaurant
By Louise Bourgeois
Located in New York, NY
Louise Bourgeois Limited Edition Ceramic Plate depicting Malloreddus alla Sarda, Dallas Texas, 1998 Ceramic Plate 10 in diameter Edition 457/1000 (read description; the edition was not completed) Unframed (Stand shown is not included) Makes a memorable gift! This striking, rare limited edition, signed and numbered bowl/plate was handmade in southern Italy by master artisans near Vietri sul Mare. It was designed by renowned American artist Louise Bourgeois. From the late 1990s through the millenium, Buon Ricordo...
Ceramic, Porcelain, Screen, Mixed Media
$850
H 7.5 in W 6 in D 3 in
Large White Oval Crackle Ceramic Porcelain Vessel with Crushed Edge
By Mary Jaffe
Located in East Quogue, NY
Oval vessel with crushed edge porcelain with white crackle glaze Size: 7.5 H x 6 x 3 inches Mary Jaffe creates functional and sculptural ceramics inspired by vast landscapes and th...
Porcelain, Glaze
Face Wall Piece - Bronze, Abstract Sculpture, 2021
By Lois Sattler
Located in Boston, MA
Artist Commentary: Face Wall Piece - Bronze. Playful curves play against the strength inherent in this bronze face-to-face mask wall hanging glazed in a bronze patina with a turquois...
Ceramic, Porcelain
$1,300
H 10.63 in W 5.91 in D 5.91 in
"Ice Vibes 2.0" Sculpture: Abstract Expressionist Porcelain, Textile, Leather
By Olga Radionova
Located in Zofingen, AG
This series of sculptures is called Emotional States. It was created in 2023 in Kyiv (Ukraine). I lived and worked all year in my hometown in the middle of a Big war. I experienced a...
Porcelain, Textile, Epoxy Resin
White and Black Platter with Gold Accents
By Lois Sattler
Located in Boston, MA
Artist Commentary: White and black platter with gold accents. Medium: ceramic porcelain. Size: 15 inch diameter and 2 inches deep (38 cm diameter and 6 c...
Ceramic, Porcelain
$575
H 17 in W 17 in D 2 in
Steel Tone Metallic Platter with Gold Accent, Abstract Sculpture, 2021
By Lois Sattler
Located in Boston, MA
Artist Commentary: Steel tone metallic platter with gold accent. Medium: ceramic porcelain. Size: 17 inch diameter and 2 inches deep (43 cm diameter and 5 cm deep). Made in Californi...
Ceramic, Porcelain