We are honored to shine a light on a selection of artworks from the late Pablo Amaringo made between 1977-2008. In 1955, at the age of 17, Pablo began to paint portraits and scenes inspired by his local surroundings. As his life and experiences evolved, so would the subject matter of his paintings, embellished with the Amazonian landscapes, flora and fauna as well as depicting the ancestral traditions and life of the Indigenous peoples. He would define this style as ‘Neo-Amazónico’ or ‘New Amazonian’; a style that he portrayed throughout his life.  

His paintings convey the immense detail and knowledge that identify them to the Neo-Amazónico school founded by Pablo and anthropologist Eduardo Luna in 1988, where he offered such painting classes to students who he believed were the most in need, those who lived on the outskirts of Pucallpa and the riverine areas of the Ucayali.

It was always his belief to transmit a love for and to conserve nature through the power of the painted image, that through art we would all learn to love and respect what nature gives us. Through these original paintings of Pablo we hope that you will be able to transport yourselves to witness these scenarios as Pablo did, and that you place yourselves before them with love. 

1977-1983

In the summer of 1977 Pablo would have a chance meeting with the Swiss musician and traveler Fredy Kugler in his hometown of Pucallpa. Fredy would be one of the first foreigners to take a serious interest in his art and would support Pablo through the selling of his art in the late 70's and early 80's in Switzerland. On exhibition are the unsigned remaining works from Fredy's collection from that time.

“I met Pablo Amaringo in the summer of 1977. I traveled about 10 days on the raft and some more days in a canoe. In Pucallpa, I stayed in a hotel very close to where Pablo lived and there we met on the street. He was painting the way you see in the paintings here. He was not aware, not conscious of the great exquisite talent he had and so would give the paintings to friends as gifts.”

~Fredy Kugler

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PABLO CÉSAR AMARINGO SHUÑA (1938-2009)

Pablo César Amaringo Shuña was a healer, vegetalista, musician, voracious reader and a self-taught artist. He was born on the 29th of June, 1938 in Tamanco, a province of Requena, in the department of Loreto, Peru. Pablo was the 7th of 13 siblings and is survived by one brother and sister who live in Pucallpa. Since a young boy he had divining visions which evolved through his experiences and quest for understanding the world.

In his late teens, he experienced some heart problems which forced him to stay at home to recover for over a year. During this time he began to make portraits beginning with his own, along with painting animals and plants on pieces of discarded paper. It wasn't until his 30's that he would follow the healing path of plants, showing him the laws of nature and the creator itself, delivering him through a deeper connection to the spiritual domain; a domain whose stories would be told through his art.

After setting up the Usko-Ayar school in 1988, he began to achieve worldwide recognition for his more visionary-style paintings; a style that he developed through the encouragement of Colombian anthropologist Eduardo Luna and American ethno-pharmacologist Dennis McKenna. Pablo would continue to produce paintings of his Neo-Amazónico and visionary style up until his death in 2009. 

Pablo's paintings have been exhibited in many countries, including the United States, France, Britain, Finland, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, China, and Peru amongst others. Pablo was loved and admired by thousands of people worldwide.

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USKO-AYAR SCHOOL

In 1985, Pablo met Eduardo Luna and Dennis McKenna, where the direction of his art would shift into painting; from his incredible memory, the visions he received from drinking ayahuasca. It was through the success and recognition of his visionary art that Pablo launched the Amazonian school of painting 'Usko-Ayar' in 1988, with the support of Eduardo Luna. Its core principles were to teach the Neo-Amazónico painting style of landscapes and rainforest scenes. Perhaps this is Pablo's biggest legacy, which gave inspiration and artistic tools to the youth of his birth town of Pucallpa.

“I teach them to not have to copy from books, but instead to paint from what they have grasped from nature, that they learn to live within that scene, and that they learn to create a visual representation of it with love.”‍

~Pablo Amaringo / Por eso les digo que pinten (1991) © Luis Eduardo Luna

The mission of the Usko-Ayar school is to foster understanding and respect for the Amazonian rainforest ecosystem through artistic education in order to strengthen the cultural identity of the local youth, leading to a better quality of life. Juan Vásquez Amaringo is the director of the school and continues to offer workshops and classes at its original location.

The photograph above promotes the Amazonian Painters (1990-2000) from the USKO-AYAR School of Amazonian Painting which was during the visit of Mrs. Hikaru Nagatake from Japan, who was the International Manager of Pablo Amaringo for the Asian Continent.

During the 1992 earth summit in Brazil, Pablo was elected to the United Nations environment program UNEP Global 500 roll of honor, in recognition of his outstanding practical achievements in the protection and improvement of the environment through the Usko-Ayar school in Pucallpa, where he taught until his passing in 2009. 

This is an early example of Pablo's visionary art from 1989. His collaborative relationship with Eduardo Luna would later bear the fruit of “Ayahuasca Visions”(1991), the first publication of Pablo's story and his visionary art, a book which would introduce Pablo's work to a worldwide audience. His success and recognition grew with his art being shown at various exhibitions worldwide, offering the public a unique introduction into the complex shamanic realm of Ayahuasca.

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1982 - 2008

Shown on the last wall of the exhibition are some previously unseen works which have been carefully stored in Pablo's studio since his passing in 2009 under the guardianship of Pablo's nephew Juan Vásquez Amaringo; who Pablo raised as his son. Juan has shared these paintings with us to make more visible the other side of Pablo's artistic legacy, which connected him to wisdom, knowledge, understanding, discernment, and spirit.

"One of my hopes is that by showing these landscapes of Pablo César Amaringo Shuña, the world becomes more aware of the greatness and importance of our Amazon and everything that derives from it, so as to not continue destroying it.” 

~Juan Vásquez Amaringo

"... because we Amazonians from here live mostly from the jungle, we heal ourselves with plants and thus the children will learn to love, to take care of these plants, to respect them because they are also living beings."

~Pablo Amaringo 1999/ Por Eso les digo que pinten (1991) © Luis Eduardo Luna

We would like to extend a special thank you to Fredy Kugler, Rudolf Städelin, and Juan Vásquez Amaringo. It is with honor and respect that we are able to share the work of a great master such as Pablo César Amaringo Shuña, may the legacy and message of his art continue to inspire all generations.

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Curation: Melanie Dizon, Jack Wheeler

Video Edition: El Ambulante Audiovisual

Video Footage: Davis Torres, El Ambulante Audiovisual

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Neo-Amazónico Pablo Amaringo is on exhibition from 6 December 2024 - 25 March 2025.

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