Guillermo Alejandro Quintero Valderrama is a Colombian artist born in Santafé de Bogota in 1938. He studied art in Bogotá, Madrid, Paris and in Hamburg where, in 1969, he enrolled in the sculpture department of HFBK Hamburg (until 1973.) He was friends with the artists Joseph Beuys and Paul Wunderlich (who both taught at HFBK Hamburg) and Bruno Bruni who was a student here.1
In his work, Quintero portrays the human expression of love and the desire for an ideal world and the rejection of all kinds of violence. The works were carried out in various areas of fine art such as paintings with oil and watercolor, sculpture and drawing.2 His artworks share a vibrant and expressive style, blending abstractive and figurative elements with bold color compositions and fluid composititons.
His work Grazien, for instance,3 depicts elongated, overlapping human figures in an abstract style, with their bodies blending into one another through transparent layers of color. The figures are rendered in warm hues of red, orange, yellow, blue, and pink, giving a sense of movement and intimacy. The background is a deep red, enhancing the emotional warmth of the scene. The fluidity and layering suggest a sense of unity or transformation.
Sebastians Gallery in Hamburg Blankenese opened in 2021 with an exhibition of paintings by Quintero. The owner of the gallery and good friend of Quintero’s, Sebastian Aloscari, says that he has been fascinated by the artist for a long time. He remembers him as someone who paints day and night and who doesn’t care about materialistic success. He describes Quintero as a genius, saying that he conveyed “the inexpressible in a unique way.”4
A few years ago, Quintero moved back home to Colombia, where he continues his work in his studio in Tabio-Cundinamarca. Sebastian Aloscari commented on Quintero’s leaving Germany: “A shining star vanished from Hamburg’s sky. His Art continues to enlighten us.”5 Quintero’s daughter Sabrina, however, is still based in Leipzig where she is also working as an artist.6
This article was published in February 2025.