A visual passion

Ramiro llona

Embassy of Peru in the usa

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A PHOTO

EXHIBIT

by

RAMIRO

LLONA

THE CAPTIVE IMAGE RAMIRO LLONA

Lima under the eyes of an

artist

The Virtual Eye © Embassy of Peru in the USA

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Ramiro Llona is one of the most important Peruvian visual artists. Born in Lima in 1947, his work is worldwide recognized.

But his secret passion is photography.

In this first edition of The Virtual Eye, we uncover some of his pictures that reveal Llona’s passion in capturing moments, colors, and volumes, as part of his daily

activities as an artist.

The Embassy of Peru in the United States starts today its monthly virtual gallery,

which will be dedicated to promoting the work of the most representative Peruvian

artists.

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The Virtual Eye © Embassy of Peru in the USA

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“If you want to know about my life, go and look at the sea”

Martín Adán, Peruvian poet (1908-1985)

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Ramiro Llona captures in an

instant volumes, colors, and situations.

Barranco City is permanently present in the photographic work of Llona. The artist walks daily through the streets,

equipped with a camera. He is always lurking —watching the unfolding of the shapes and colors of the day.

And maybe, some of those pictures will be transformed into an oil painting that will become then the remembrance of his

morning walks.

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The Virtual Eye © Embassy of Peru in the USA

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“The pictures

are the same as those taken by a walker. I have always had the

habit of identifying in

the streets, situations, characters, forms, and volumes.

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“I like to see how the sun reaches the texture of a

battered wall and the way the story

changes depending on

what side of the street you were

walking on. There are years of

training behind this. The street is

my natural habitat.”

The Virtual Eye © Embassy of Peru in the USA

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“In Lima one must walk early, when the city hasn’t yet been taken by traffic. One is able to see how the city was before and discover a

mood stuck in time. The fog in Lima conceals forms but accentuates the ambiance of the city. Lima is a city in a permanent process of disappearance and transformation, and if one pays close attention, the protagonist is the nostalgia. And soon I felt the need

to capture that feeling. At first, in a very casual manner, always early between 7 and 8 am when I would walk my kids to the corner

where the school bus picked them up at 6:45 am.”

The Virtual Eye © Embassy of Peru in the USA

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B. Lorem ipsum.

(item # XXXX) $000.00

C. Vestibulum quam.

(item # XXXX) $000.00

E. Suspendisse congue.

(item # XXXX) $000.00

F. Nulla quis sem.

(item # XXXX) $000.00

A. Aenean elit.

(item # XXXX) $000.00

D. Quisque Viverra

(item # XXXX) $000.00

The Virtual Eye © Embassy of Peru in the USA

“While walking my dog I began to take steps that would take me each time further, always to the border of the Barranco’s Canyons. The first pictures I took were related to the ocean, the sand, and the cliffs. Every day I walk under the Puente de los Suspiros towards to the beach. What started out as something casual became a passionate mood, filled with purpose. The idea is to capture a mood and a state of animation.”

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“During my years in New York City I always walked with a camera in my pocket and always

had on my desk dozens of pictures that I sorted in black notebooks, one per page.”

The Virtual Eye © Embassy of Peru in the USA

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“Since that time in NYC, I have always tried to organize the images in an abstract way, forgetting that they were roads or parks and looking instead at forms, compositions, colors, contrasts. It was my way of being a painter. Many times I would find the imaginary that would appear afterwards in my paintings.”

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Nulla facilisi. Mauris laoreet aliquet mi.

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The Virtual Eye © Embassy of Peru in the USA

“All of the images are

done with an iPhone5 and

edited on Instagram, a

very small few, with iPhoto.

All have been printed in the

format of 9 x 9 cms. At home

I used a CANON Selphy.”

“The idea was to do a

photo exhibit at the MAC in Barranco

and also print a book.

Incredibly enough, a

photography book of

Barranco does not exist.”

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“ I have

around 500 pictures. It is already a document of an era,

full of sensitivity.

”

Digital Diplomacy Embassy of Peru in the USA

1700 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. Washington D.C. 20036