Abstract Cubist Painting, "Vision"

Chero was born in Piura on May 16, 1951. At the age of 14, he discovered his love for art when he decided to enter an art contest for children of Petro Peru workers. The theme was petroleum as it related to the nation, and Chero won a prize. "I decided then that I wanted to go to the capital and study painting in the School of Fine Arts," he recalls. "And I did, for two years. I had no more money to continue. The rest of my formation came through my own experience and practice.

"I plan each painting first. I seek the abstract, the pre-Hispanic, not the figurative, because this style arrived here with the Spaniards. It is our past that inspires me. Blues and earth tones are my favorites.

"My studio is here at home, and my wife and son are also artists. We enjoy painting together and critique one another's work. I like to get up early and get started around 6 a.m. And I enclose myself in the world of art until late afternoon."