Born in Valencia, Spain in 1942. Between 1957 and 1959, he studied at his local institution, San Carlos School of Art. In 1964, he established the group Equipo Cronica with his friends Juan Antonio Toledo and Rafael Solbes (Toledo left after several years). Beginning with popular images from print materials, the group created flat, colorful works in a style that could be seen as similar to the contemporary American movement of Pop Art, including works that borrowed icons from historic artists like Velasquez, El Greco, and Picasso. Their work was very political, often satirizing Franco's dictatorial regime. After Solbes passed away in 1981, Valdés continued as a solo artist.

He created not only paintings, but worked with stone, wood, copper, and bronze sculptures and etchings; he went through great development creating many works in diverse mediums and genres. Valdés has participated in well over 100 exhibitions around the world. He is currently based in New York and Madrid.