Renowned Spanish artist Manolo Valdes, whose work ranges across painting, sculpture and multimedia, will show his small sculptures at his second solo exhibition at Opera Gallery in Atlantis the Royal, Dubai.
Running until October 31, the exhibition, titled Domesticity, is a comprehensive yet intimate showcase of the artist’s sculptural talent and his prowess at executing intricate details.
“I love exhibiting in Dubai because it is a unique place,” Valdes tells The National. “I always like works to go to different places. I really like to see the reactions that may occur in Dubai, Berlin or Beijing.”
From standing figures in exaggerated proportions to faceless busts with elaborate headdresses made up of a kaleidoscope butterflies, Valdes uses a range materials such as wood, resin, aluminum and bronze, to create whimsical, unexpected works.
They are also full of rich and cleverly layered references. Taking inspiration from myriad masters such as Spanish Baroque artist Diego Velazquez, romantic painter and printmaker Francisco Goya and, of course, the prolific Pablo Picasso, Valdes reinterprets and combines their motifs together into new contexts, creating a unique style that’s rooted in art history.
“What I do is comment on paintings from the history of art, I comment on them from the specificity of that painting,” he says.
For example, Valdes explains, he’d take the image of Queen Mariana from Velazquez’s famous 1653 portrait and reinterpret her into a different size from the original. He might only take a fragment of her, such as her silhouette and introduce various colours, textures or stylistic concepts from the pop art movement. Or from other artists he admires, such as the Catalonian painter Antoni Tapies, or the French painter and sculptor Jean Dubuffet.
Valdes says he allows the process to take control of the outcome so that, for example, if drops of paint fall on the canvas where they weren’t supposed to, he doesn’t erase them because he learned from abstract expressionist artist Jackson Pollock that he can turn those “accidents into something beautiful".
“I give these examples to explain that, starting from a painting from the 17th century, I am making references to other ways of painting that have come after that century,” he says. “Naturally, the result is different from the original painting that Velazquez painted.”
While Valdes says he’s attempting to make art historical references current through his own style, his aim isn’t to direct the audience into any particular reading of his work.
“The people who look at the paintings are also very varied and make very different interpretations,” he says. “I really like it when a painting produces different readings because the viewer has the right and obligation to interpret it as they see fit. The different interpretations always enrich the work.”
Domesticity will present Valdes’s refined ideas in visual form, pieces that demonstrate his mastery at manipulating material and form through craftsmanship – where light, colour and subject matter are recontextualised in intriguing ways. From initial idea to his execution, it’s challenging to understand how Valdes’s sculptures in the exhibition are able to pack so much detail and thought into one single, modestly sized piece without overwhelming the viewer.
He says he’s not entirely sure how ideas enter his head, but that the process of developing them is organic.
“When I’m visiting the Metropolitan Museum in New York, I see some Greek perfume bottles that catch my attention, then when I leave I find perfumes in a shop window and almost automatically Warhol's painting of Chanel number 5 appears to me,” he says.
“That accumulation leads me to consider making a painting with that theme. I go to the studio and start drawing. I review all the images that art history has offered me and have caught my attention. Then I choose whether to make a sculpture or a painting, then I choose the materials and start the work.”
Valdes’s work, even as concepts, is a constant dialogue between past and present, between historical figures and everyday subjects. It’s a way for Valdes to explore, understand and contextualise history and how throughout the timeline of humanity, there has always been an interest and concern with mark making.
“It is important to look at the past to understand the present,” Valdes says. “I am interested in history from the moment man leaves his mark in the pre-historic caves.”
Manolo Valdes's solo exhibition Domesticity is running until October 31 at Opera Gallery at Atlantis The Royal
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 285bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: TBA
On sale: Q2, 2020
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Tips from the expert
Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.
- Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
- It’s important to use clear and appealing photos, with catchy titles and detailed descriptions to capture the attention of prospective buyers.
- Try to advertise a realistic price to attract buyers looking for good deals, especially in the current environment where consumers are significantly more price-sensitive.
- Be creative and look around your home for valuable items that you no longer need but might be useful to others.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The UAE squad for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games
The jiu-jitsu men’s team: Faisal Al Ketbi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Yahia Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Obaid Al Nuaimi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Mansoori, Saeed Al Mazroui, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Qubaisi, Salem Al Suwaidi, Khalfan Belhol, Saood Al Hammadi.
Women’s team: Mouza Al Shamsi, Wadeema Al Yafei, Reem Al Hashmi, Mahra Al Hanaei, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Hessa Thani, Salwa Al Ali.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
THE BIG MATCH
Arsenal v Manchester City,
Sunday, Emirates Stadium, 6.30pm
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Wednesday and the pair embraced but he failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
UAE squad
Rohan Mustafa (captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
More on Quran memorisation:
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Representing%20UAE%20overseas
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Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
