Artist:
Manolo Valdés
Title:
Regina II
Year:
2005
Adress:
Broadway, 103rd Street
www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg:
From March 1, 2007 to April 15, 2007, Bryant Park was the host to an exhibition of six monumental bronze works by renowned Spanish painter and sculptor Manolo Valdés.
The Fountain Terrace of the park features four sculptures depicting female heads, each measuring over thirteen feet tall. Suggestive of faces in the paintings of Henri Matisse, their calm facial composure is offset by dynamic ornamental head-pieces. Two of the works, Yvonne I and Yvonne II, were recently completed by Valdés and are making their debut in Bryant Park.
Manolo Valdés was born in Valencia, Spain, in 1942 and his work may be found around the world in more than 40 public collections. A globally recognized artist, Valdés was chosen as the official representative of Spain at the 1999 Venice Biennale, and his paintings, sculptures, and graphic work were most recently celebrated at retrospectives held by the Guggenheim Bilbao in 2002 and Madrid's Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in 2006.
Throughout his work, Valdés draws his inspiration from the great masters of the past, including Diego Velázquez and Henri Matisse. His approach to art is to focus not on the subject, but on the way art is created. For Valdés, the subject is simply the first step. The regal sculptures displayed in Bryant Park reflect Valdés' exploration of the process and journey in creating the art.
From March 1, 2007 to April 15, 2007, Bryant Park was the host to an exhibition of six monumental bronze works by renowned Spanish painter and sculptor Manolo Valdés.
The Fountain Terrace of the park features four sculptures depicting female heads, each measuring over thirteen feet tall. Suggestive of faces in the paintings of Henri Matisse, their calm facial composure is offset by dynamic ornamental head-pieces. Two of the works, Yvonne I and Yvonne II, were recently completed by Valdés and are making their debut in Bryant Park.
Manolo Valdés was born in Valencia, Spain, in 1942 and his work may be found around the world in more than 40 public collections. A globally recognized artist, Valdés was chosen as the official representative of Spain at the 1999 Venice Biennale, and his paintings, sculptures, and graphic work were most recently celebrated at retrospectives held by the Guggenheim Bilbao in 2002 and Madrid's Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in 2006.
Throughout his work, Valdés draws his inspiration from the great masters of the past, including Diego Velázquez and Henri Matisse. His approach to art is to focus not on the subject, but on the way art is created. For Valdés, the subject is simply the first step. The regal sculptures displayed in Bryant Park reflect Valdés' exploration of the process and journey in creating the art.