ROBERT LLIMÓS

 

Nationality: Spain

 

Born on October 19, 1943 in Barcelona.

 

He studied at the Massana School and at the Sant Jordi Fine Arts School in Barcelona. He began as a painter of the New Figuration (1965-1968) and between 1969 and 1973 he goes through a stage of conceptual experimentation and returns to figurative painting within an expressionist line, giving great emphasis to color.

 

He has lived long seasons in New York (1975-1983) and in Miami (1987-1988). In addition to painting, his current work includes sculpture, graphic work, murals, posters, etc.

 

He currently lives and works in his Barcelona workshop. In 1994, the Generalitat de Catalunya granted him the "Prize of Plastic Arts".

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ROBERT'S STORY

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"In 2009, on a trip to Fortaleza, Brazil, I went for a walk looking for inspiration from the landscape. Its mounds of sand dunes rose to the horizon, stood by four trees against a cloudy sky, a spectacular scenery. To my surprise, there was a UFO, half camouflaged by clouds. Here we are, I thought, they exist for real! They are in front of me, I have a notebook and a pencil in my hand, this is my chance, I have a new image!

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My senses were absorbing everything that was being presented to me, and I began to draw what I was seeing. Lights, lines and the camouflage effect of the spaceship with fogs and clouds. With my eyes on the paper, I realized that lights began to project over me. I was being scanned. I looked at the spaceship, and I saw an open glass window and inside its yellow interior, there were two beings that were observing me, a man and a woman, both with very long necks and scaly skin. The woman had a tiara on her head and a long dress, the man a jacket, showing an archaic and noble look. I think that two or three hours passed, too long for just ten notes, ten drawings in pencil without getting into the characters, although I keep their very presence in my memories.

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Back in Barcelona, I started painting fast and intensively, as I had an exhibition and wanted to introduce this new theme. The exhibition was organized by Alejandro Sales Gallery, its title was Contact, and was due to open on October 1, 2009. When Veronica Soto, one of the several journalists that came to the show, called me to thank me for the interview, our conversation was interrupted by little voices and sharp breaths. They were not mechanical interference. There were pauses and feelings, but totally incomprehensible. We both agreed that they were thanking us for disclosing their existence. This happened to me a total of five times during the exhibition.

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Everyone asks me why this experience happened to me. I know it's strange, and it still remains strange to me, but I think it´s because I can explain graphically, and they have chosen to show themselves in an illustrative form, without sensational stories, fictions or cinematography that frightens the society. Thanks to the different painting techniques I mastered, I was able to capture the experience, which has changed my way of seeing art and life, in a more precise manner. Painting is a valid method to capture these images that have never been represented before, let alone photography of this theme.

I think interpreting this contact has led me to an answer of the sculpture Miraestels, which I have in the port of Barcelona. It protects the sea while looking up to the sky for help. I have always thought it would serve to contact with the beyond and finally it has. I hope this "big brother" will help us clean up this world and make it a better place to live in."

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Robert Llimós