Valdés is a Spanish artist residing in New York, working in paint, sculpture and mixed media. He introduced to Spain a form of expression that combined political and social obligations with humor and irony.
Manolo Valdés was born in Valencia. He entered the Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Carlos in 1957, where he studied two years.
In 1964 he established the artists' group Equipo Crónica with Joan Toledo and Rafael Solbes in which he remained until Solbes' death in 1981.
He now lives and works in New York and Madrid.