Romulo Avendano

ROMULO AVENDANO

Traveling through one’s inner world and discovering oneself as the owner and creator of a new vision; sensing a new meaning towards adulthood, one that is a now a forest full of scents and exquisite aromas; acknowledging the absolute conviction of life, walking on the planet without any waste; rebuilding hands and souls on a new path, and experimenting fully the present by being: a passionate photographer.

A mariner never leaves the sea, and he must get its consent to undertake further journeys; understanding as well, the fact that between heaven and earth, there are also waves to overcome, and that challenges will always be present, just as the photographic career of Rómulo Avendaño. In his authentic essence, detached from years of maritime experience, he finds in 2008, a new sea: photography. Trained at FOTOARTE School, Roberto Mata School and Avecofa, Rómulo achieves perceiving the world with a magical eye. He makes alliance with the lens and discovers a myriad of new waves and calm waters.

Two years later, in 2010, Romulo travels along the Venezuelan coasts and obtains “Black Land”, as a result of his work. He devotes this exploration to finding the roots of the afro-descendant generations that today are strength, force, drums, cocoa and honey, that emerge from our ocean borders. This series of images were subsequently published by the newspaper El Universal in its section “Exposed Gaze”, edited by the journalist Juan Antonio Gonzalez.

In 2011, an explosion of color, land, mysticism and flavor, was the path that hooked Romulo; a trip to various cities in India that imprinted his total idyll with the camera. His photographic essence blossoms with his new project called “Samsara”. Through this work, he managed to represent the cycle of human life, from birth to death, as well as exploring in depth, the mysterious corridors of reincarnation.

In March of 2013, he documents the funeral of the deceased President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez Frias. This photographic series grants him the privileged access to one of the ten reserved spots for foreign photographers, in one of the most prestigious photography documentary workshops in New York City; founded by the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Eddie Adams. Rómulo Avendaño becomes the first Venezuelan photographer with such an amazing opportunity.

During this workshop, he was led by the photographer John White, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1982 as well as the Vietnamese photographer Nick Ut, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his famous photo of “The Girl of Napalm” in 1972 and by the Argentinean photographer Rodrigo Abd, Pulitzer Prize 2013, among other international photographers; through this experience he achieves sharpening the documentation and tracing of graphics.

Paris, the city of light and unbridled passions, haughty gaze and exquisite taste, cedes in June of 2013, its spaces, designed only for lovers and geniuses; it succumbs and whispers before Romulo’s lens and grants him the scent of old perfume. This is how “Samsara” arrives at the exhibition “métiers du Monde” at the Galerie de la Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris; a cured selection made by the prestigious French photographer Huguier Francoise. This is the closest thing to a kiss of love in the gardens of Versailles, before the restless look of Marie Antoinette and the Sun King.

Foraying into commercial photography in Panama, Colombia and Venezuela, has been a new way of satisfaction and personal development; the mission has been to achieve a style that moves the soul, traps you and evokes sentiment. The photography of Rómulo Avendaño allows the trademarks to become a private remembrance, unique in the mind of the consumer. That is its advertising style.

Pleasantly I have watched him travel; the world is his playground for trial and improvement. I close my eyes and I know that before snapping a shot, Rómulo breathes, feels the ground and its sacred energy, looks up to the sky humbly and focuses. I have seen hundreds of pictures that cry out the excitement of life; the way he brings us back to that sense of aliveness in ourselves, and instills in us the need to have the best possible focus; that one, that brings happiness, fullness and thankfulness to the Creator. Perhaps for this reason Rómulo Avendaño sees himself as a purist of the image. Any intervention or modifications are prohibited in his photos; this takes him to a place where he needs to be in constant learning mode, without ceasing to being flexible with new techniques and trends.

This journey is not lonely; one of the most pleasant blessings for Romulo as a photographer, is giving his children Diego and Sebastian, the possibility of seeing life as an endless landscape; teaching them that being a good man requires actions more than words with his example, leaving both a legacy of endless trials and improvements along the path of life. The first time that I saw him with a camera, he was guiding his youngest son Sebastian, to feel the image he was about to shoot. This moment was inspiring to me; it made me admire him without knowing his past or his present.

As a photographer, Rómulo Avendaño is a promise of hope; endless hope for his children and for all of us who have witnessed his professional growth; he is the awakening to a positive Venezuela. Knowing how to live with a talent is a decision, many times in a brisk sea, but tremendously fulfilling with no doubt. Don’t believe blindly in my words. Go to the gallery, and you will be profoundly amazed. I can honestly say, that his work will surpass any expectations; you will have no choice but to feel a sense of deep admiration for him as a man, as a professional, as a magic photographer…

Artist Statement

Every picture has a story. Every photographer is a visual storyteller. It is through these stories that people are inspired. Inspiration sparks imagination. Imagination sparks creation. Creation leaves a legacy that inspires the same creative cycle to repeat itself. Without this cycle, we are not living, we are merely surviving. In today’s world, the organic essence of life experience seems to be vanishing virtually before our eyes. Life is not meant to be experienced vicariously. My hope is that by sharing my images, they will inspire actual adventure, awareness, social care and empathy.

Even in the hands of a master, a camera alone will never capture feelings as we can perceived it with all of our senses. My goal is to illustrate the rich experiences I have had in this multi- dimensional world as best as I can within the limits of this two-dimensional medium. Although I generally don’t add or remove anything significant from my images, there is never an absolute definition of what I saw in the image to begin with. How we see is a very personal thing. To this point, I believe a great photograph is not merely documenting the scene at hand; rather it is about fusing the essential vision of the artist with their scene and subjects.

Some have said my pictures possess a beauty, high and light, like the works in silver of the ancient Irish. Within my photographs a simple line can swell to a great size and a looming mass can disappear in movement. Passion always informs my work, exposing darkness rimmed with simplicity and beauty. My photography is fierce and exact and my ideas are controlled before any shot. I force my compositions to resonate, to shudder. My pictures emerge as a moving surface to my eye, like wind on water.

I believe the most important quality of a photograph, as in all of art, is to evoke an emotional response.

My photography takes a critical view of social, political and cultural issues. In my work, I deconstruct the human dream, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and lullabies that are part of our childhood and adult culture.

I use photography as a means to document the world around me. I make pictures that call attention to things that other people overlook. This exploration of the overlooked helps me engage more deeply with where I am in space and time. My goal is to make photographs that draw viewers into the now. A focus on details keeps us in the present; it stops us from fretting on the future or regretting the past. My photographs are like a physical meditation.