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Carlos Leon

"I was born 24 March, 1967 in the Otuzco province of Libertad, in Peru. My father was a much-loved policeman, probably that's why people in my community loved me too. My mother was a homemaker and I also have a sister – we grew up in a happy family life.

"I studied elementary school in my village, and continued my studies in Trujillo, which included three years in the Music Conservatory and then at the Fine Arts School, where I graduated in 1991.

"I've loved to paint ever since I was a kid. Back then I used to draw but one day my uncle Manuel painted a bird on my notebook and it was as if it was coming to life before my own eyes! I don't recall any other time when I could have considered painting that was as important or significant as that wonderful day. I owe it to my uncle Manuel that many birds have come forth from my hands, and no doubt many more will come.

"I've always been prone to observe nature and play with it. When it rained I was happy to get drenched, and the sun to me was a like a huge orange that was ready to be picked at 6 a.m. There's no doubt in my mind that that's how it all began, and I've been painting ever since.

"I decided to follow the path of art because it has always been what allows me to see the sun as a great big orange and hail as a bunch of friends with whom I can play. When I studied art I learnt to develop my personalized style with the adequate knowledge.

"As a child I also enjoyed making ceramic items, musical instruments from reed, kites, and plan roads for my toy cars. As a child I tried it all and as an adult, I continue to do so, I paint, I write poetry, I read, and then I paint again.

"Art is the constant in my life: it allows me to go back to my childhood and search my roots, as well as others'. I am moved by a desire to help myself as well as others. I want to transmit fulfillment through simplicity – the simplicity of fulfillment.

"My work is like an attempt to transmit Peruvian history, the stories of people who lived holding unto the flames of ideals and love for this great American continent. When I was doing research for an exhibition, I encountered the face of violence that scarred my country in the 1980's, and then find peace in children's faces.

"These days I'm working on building a world where the characters are made from stone. I believe in people that are as strong as stone, and people that are as defiant as stone.

"Life experiences have helped me and marked my path, but what is more important to me is that these stories, after helping me, they become a painting, and as such have helped others. One day a man called me to say he's hung one of my paintings in a place where he'd see it as soon as he'd open his eyes in the mornings because he finds a sense of calm when he sees it, which encourages him to face the day ahead. That to me is like bringing the story full circle back to me.

"Art to me is a point of reference through which I may communicate with others. I've exhibited my work throughout Peru, as well as in France, U.S., Germany, Finland, Mexico and Spain.

"The biggest challenge I have had to face came with my dad's death – I had to learn to fly with only one wing. I had to learn no to go in circles, like you do on a boat when you only have one oar. I understood what it means to love a father, to love the world. I feel tormented when I work, and then I find calm. Such torment and calm give me the strength to go toward a language that becomes clearer.

"To Novica clients I would like to say that my paintings are the result of living life intensely. They are also the result of trying to live each day more naturally and simply."