Luis Fernando Peláez

Who is he: Luis Fernando Peláez (1945) is an important Colombian artist and architect. Throughout his artistic career he has participated in national and international exhibits that have yielded a number of prizes and distinctions such as the Grand Prize at the Pan-American Biennial of Architecture in Quito (Ecuador); the First Prize in the category of Public Space, in the same Biennial; and the Prize Lápiz de Acero, for Public Space, in Bogota. These three distinctions were obtained in collaboration with his son, the architect Juan Manuel Peláez, in 2006.

Furthermore, in 2002 Luis Fernando Peláez received the first prize in the contest to renovate the Cisneros Public Square in Medellin and was included as a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. In 1987 he received the first prize at the V American Biennial of Graphic Arts, in Cali, and in 1986 he received the first prize in the Hall of National Artists, in Medellín, alongside the Colombian artist Doris Salcedo.

Of his work, Luis Fernando himself has stated that, "I search not only in memory itself but also in all other sources, such as art history, language, history and from all that I build a language and my work. Every piece of mine is a construction of language."

Background: Luis Fernando Peláez was born in Jericó, a municipality in the department of Antioquia, Colombia, in 1945. He attended the Pontificia Universidad Bolivariana, in Medellín, where he received a degree in Architecture, and later became a professor at the National University.

Since 1979 he has shown his work in cities such as Madrid, Bogota, Caracas, Santiago de Chile, Berlin, Sao Paulo, Lima, Medellin, Friedrichshafen, Lisbon, Washington and Frankfurt, and has received distinctions such as the First Prize at the American Biennial of Plastic Arts (Cali, 1986) and the First Prize at the Pan-American Biennial of Architecture in Quito (BAQ, 2006).

For more information about the artist and his work, visit his website at www.luisfernandopelaez.com.