Guillermo Ramírez Cattaneo
Born in Pereira, Colombia
Resides and works in Pereira, Colombia
Education/training:
1985-1990: BS Civil Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, U.S.A.
1990-1992: Master of Civil Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, U.S.A.
2010-2013: Master on Philosophy, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Pereira, Colombia
Selected exhibitions:
1981 Taller de Oscar Naranjo, (group exhibition), Manizales, Colombia
1982 El Caballete, (group exhibition), Pereira, Colombia
1982 El Zócalo, (group exhibition), Pereira, Colombia
1982 VII Salón de artistas del Viejo Caldas, (group exhibition), Manizales, Colombia
1983 Club Rialto, (group exhibition), Pereira, Colombia
1983 Centro de Arte Actual, (group exhibition), Pereira, Colombia
1984 Salón Nacional de Arte Joven, Museo de Antioquia, (group exhibition), Medellín, Colombia
1985 XXIX Salón Nacional de Artes Visuales, (group exhibition), Museo Nacional, Bogotá, Colombia
1993 Plumillas,(solo exhibition), galería El Taller, Pereira, Colombia
2001 La Cuadra talleres abiertos, (group exhibition), Pereira, Colombia
Awards:
1981 Premio Carlos Alberto Calderón (honorable mention), Taller de Oscar Naranjo, Manizales, Colombia
1982 VII Salón de artistas del Viejo Caldas (winner), Manizales, Colombia
1984 Salón Nacional de Arte Joven (selected), Museo de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
1985 XXIX Salón Nacional de Artes Visuales (selected), Museo Nacional, Bogotá, Colombia
ARTIST STATEMENT
Guillermo Ramírez Cattaneo, a Colombian artist based in Pereira, is currently focused on contemporary digital painting. Historically, his work has balanced figuration and abstraction, often resembling photographic depictions of the Andean-Tropical environment. Now, he aims to draw inspiration from landscapes while prioritizing shapes over literal representations, intentionally diverging from reality.
In his current work, he utilizes digital tools to transform source images into entirely new creations through paint actions, selective interactive warping, and various image operations. To achieve dynamic and complex results with an element of randomness, he employs software akin to a music synthesizer, featuring numerous editable controls. This approach enables him to create graphical patches—presets with adjustable parameters—that offer limitless visual effects and interactive paint tools, ranging from simple brushes to intricate processes that mimic traditional techniques or introduce novel aesthetics.
His style emphasizes the conceptual presence of color, focusing on the contrast of textures from the pure white of jungle rivers to the abstraction of mountain ranges. His works feature a material grain, even in digital formats, with voids and focal points that create compositional balance and power. They play with perspective and the horizon as determining factors for the abstract composition. By employing unconventional color schemes, amplifying shapes, and using details and textures, he conveys a wide range of emotions and ideas, drawing inspiration from the inherently abstract qualities of forests’ light, colors, shapes, and textures.
He is drawn to the dramatic contrasts between dull landscapes and the majestic Andes Mountains. While muted landscapes whisper secrets of endurance, the jagged peaks of the Andes tell stories of tectonic upheaval and grandeur. These mountains, born from the fierceness of the collision of crustal plates as Pangaea broke apart, owe their majestic heights to orogenesis, a process marked by countless earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Before forests existed, there was fire. Beneath the lush forests that now cover these peaks lies a history of violence.
To capture the inherent violence of the Andes, he translates the region’s dynamic geological processes into visual forms that evoke both chaos and beauty. The Andes’ raw, untamed energy is expressed through bold, jagged lines and turbulent, overlapping shapes. He uses earthy tones interspersed with fiery reds and deep blacks to symbolize the land’s constant upheaval and transformation. Embracing abstract art, he represents these violent forces in a visceral and evocative way, inviting viewers to feel the intensity and power of the natural world.
In his work, he transforms natural elements like rocks and sunlit clearings into abstract forms, inviting viewers to explore the intricate interplay of lines and hues, studying the tension between sameness and turmoil. The forest’s diverse light, colors, shapes, and textures become abstract ingredients in his art. He hints at ancient trees, letting the foliage take center stage. Hidden within these abstractions are subtle secrets—the rustle of unseen creatures, the scent of damp earth, and the promise of hidden paths.
His artistic journey began with a hyperrealist approach to the Andean-Tropical environment, focusing on fragmented depictions of landscapes using charcoal or graphite pencils. He then transitioned to Indian ink on paper, employing crosshatching techniques to vary density and highlight details, often experimenting with tone saturation by applying water before the ink dried. Later, he explored mixed-media artworks, combining watercolor pigments and ink to produce line and wash watercolor pieces. Currently, he is engaged in digital art, utilizing specialized software to explore a vast array of visual effects and interactive tools.