“I’ve always loved open air exhibitions because they offer a backdrop that is completely different from the museum or gallery…” says Spanish art giant Manolo Valdés. Well, he would be pleased by its exhibition, where the beauty of his artwork goes together with the beauty of the venues…
I have always compared visiting an art gallery to a walk en plein air: it is regenerating, for the body and for the spirit.
So imagine when the art gallery itself is en plein air!
And imagine that this gallery is en plein air in places of exceptional beauty, such as the legendary Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, and the Château Saint-Martin & Spa in the hills of Vance … there is enough to stay inebriated, to have – as they say – butterflies in the stomach!
So, while we’re at it, let’s keep imagining, and see the butterflies grow, become giants, spread their silver or blue wings like the southern French sky …
We are in the middle of the artistic exhibition that the Oetker Group carries out every year in its two hotels on the Côte d’Azur, which, as happened once again in the past, is dedicated to the great Spanish sculptor Manolo Valdes.
“La Rêverie”, we could translate it in “the daydream” is a collection of 13 monumental works, on view until October 17th. In the dreamy gardens of these two exceptional hotels, 13 monumental sculptures by Manolo Valdés are displayed for an exhibition like no other – a true dialogue between nature and art in spectacular surroundings.
A major figure in contemporary art, Manolo Valdés has explored the works of the great masters for over 50 years, thereby adding his name to the list. His work is inspired by and pays tribute to classic artworks and prominent artists from history such as Velasquez, El Greco, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Constantin Brancusi. According to Valdés, “The art of every era adopts elements from what came before. Art is an infinite succession, always building on itself.”
His undying passion for the masters has made Manolo Valdés an artist whose contemporary work serves as a bridge between past and present. From his iconic “Meninas”, a 3-dimensional adaptation of the famous Velasquez painting from 1656 interpreted in multicoloured resin, bronze and aluminium, to his feminine heads topped with extravagant headpieces composed of butterflies or leaves, Valdés work mirrors the singular Mediterranean beauty and lavish vegetation of the gardens at Château Saint-Martin & Spa and Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. The reverie that his sculptures inspire isn’t merely due to their colour and shape, but also how they transform the landscape – like an eloquent ode to nature itself.
