If art is found everywhere, for the artist José Luis Guiulfo it manifests itself most intimately in the human form. Whether through the plasticity of naked skin or the grace of movement captured in his photographs, the work of the multidisciplinary artist presents detachment as part of the exaltation of beauty in its natural state.
“As a painter by profession, composition was something that was clearly on my mind. As a photographer, people’s bodies appeared in that composition, so it was natural that my artistic path went in that direction.”comments Guiulfo in an interview with El Comercio.
This facet was born during his formative stage at the School of Arts of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, when, sitting in front of a canvas that rested on an easel, he painted with his colleagues the “models” who posed naked, especially, he remembers. the artist to a ballet dancer. “The idea was consolidated when I saw the work of other photographers who did nudes. “I wanted to do the same, but with my own language, something that can be seen in my photographs.”mentions the artist.
At first, word of mouth increased the scale of his work, receiving hundreds of people who were looking for a more intimate portrait, in many cases as a desire for youth that was never captured in photos, which Guiulfo publishes in his social networks with prior authorization.
“To delve into this type of art, it is necessary to understand that it is not a sexual approach, but an artistic one. In addition to showing great respect, it is an opportunity for people to be portrayed in this way, something that is never easy.”Explain.
The musician Guiulfo
During the 1980s, Guiulfo embarked on a very different path from that of watercolors or celluloid: that of a musician. In 1982, under the pseudonym Luis Alonso, he debuted at the Amazon Festival with the song “On the same train.” Two years later, he would release his first album “Con el alma, con mi canto”, under the Panamericana music label.
During the promotion of his album, the opportunity arose to sing with the singer José José, thanks to the fact that his representative visited Peru and brought Guiulfo’s songs as part of a campaign to discover new sounds in different countries. “The music from before is missed, now it seems that the message has been deteriorating,” says Guiulfo, who remembers the four songs he released on the album, such as one composed by Luigi Montagne, another by Antonio Laguna and “I didn’t know.” by Rulli Rendo and “Love was not born for you” by José María Napoleón.
For his first concert in Lima, the Mexican music icon shared the stage with Guiulfo, performing a duet of the song “Por Ella”, originally accompanied by José Feliciano. “We played a second time when he returned to Lima, but his spirits were already low; “He was a melancholic person, but he still maintained that calm and simple essence that led him to never know how to say no.”remembers the Peruvian artist.
Now, he presents his most recent works, a mix between nude photographs and his ability as a painter to create pictorial images. “Publishing is something I have to do. Computer files can be damaged and if they are archived they are forgotten. Furthermore, if the photograph is not printed it seems as if it were not a photograph, there is a need to see it in person.”comments Guiulfo, who remembers that “cOver time, romance did not go unpunished, nor did art. Everything seems faster these days, something that is contradictory, because art is something that comes from ideas that last over time.”he concludes.
