Hernán Valdovinos, 1948 | Magical Realism painter

Hernán Valdovinos was born in Santiago, Chile.

At an early age, he studied art with his mother, Maruja Prats, who is herself an original and respected artist and graduated from the University of Chile's Fine Arts Institute.

At the age of nine, Valdovinos went on to study painting and sculpture with Kurt Herdan and Tótila Albert and showed his individual work for the first time through their gallery.

The father's profession (journalist) moved the entire family to New York, where Valdovinos became more familiarized with the vanguards through an important period of study at the renowned Art Students League.

Back in Chile, he was awarded a Fine Arts degree by the Fine Arts Institute of the University of Chile.

At the age of 23, Valdovinos traveled to Spain. For the next seven years, he exhibited his work in Madrid both individually and collectively.

In 1981, he was awarded a special grant by the Italian Government to study Form Analysis at the Florence University of Arts.

Throughout all this time, Valdovinos explored cubism, abstract art and portraits.

As a seeker of spiritual growth and aided by the practice of meditation techniques, Valdovinos strives toward harmony and beauty and establishing a connection between mythological and creative imagination through the representation of archetypal beings and fantastic characters such as gods, angels, unicorns, fairies, elves, genies and other extraordinary beings.

His work, which involves great technical perfection and pure drawing, is centered on the technique called 'oleo a la velatura', a method used by great Masters of the Renaissance, which Valdovinos discovered in Florence.

Valdovinos also teaches painting and drawing in his private academy in Santiago.