NAPLES, FL.- The Patty & Jay Baker Naples Museum of Art celebrates its 12th season in 2011-12 with a spectacular, wide-ranging line-up featuring work by Edgar Degas, Louise Nevelson, Steve Tobin and many others. Manolo Valdés is one of the most original and versatile artists working today. Impassioned by artists of the past, ranging from Zurbarán to Velázquez, Matisse to Lichtenstein, Valdés finds more than just inspiration in their paintings; he uses their work “as a pretext” (“como pretexto”) to create an entirely new aesthetic object – a painting or a sculpture that while clearly derived from a known composition becomes a uniquely brilliant work of art in itself. The artist’s highly expressive style becomes a collection of daring experiments in Desnudo azul, 2005. This vividly painted blue nude inspired by a Matisse painting perfectly encapsulates Valdés’ approach &#15