Hermosilla Alvarez was at this time internationally acclaimed with exhibitions in North and South America as well as in Europe. He was self-taught to begin with but later trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Chile. He lived all his life in Valparaiso (apart from a period of exile) and came to profile himself as a popular teacher of graphics, and later rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Viña del Mar in Val Paraiso. He showed solidarity with the Chilean people, poverty and suffering, and also taught in the working-class neighborhoods of young people who did not have the financial means to study at the academy. He portrayed hard-working workers, such as miners from northern Chile, but also cultural figures and human rights activists such as Victor Jara and Pablo Neruda. The style was expressive and dynamic, powerful lines. Another dear motif was the hills and simple settlements of the old Valpararaiso. Carlos Hermosilla Alvarez was named People’s Artist in 1971 by President Salvador Allende. He remained at the academy for 34 years, when he was forced to resign in connection with the military coup in Chile on September 11, 1973.

After his exhibition toured around Sweden for a period, his pictures returned to the Södertälje suburb of Hovsjö’s library. Hovsjö was a completely new district with a multicultural character. At this time, many Chilean exiles lived in the district. Thirty of his woodcuts and linoleum cuts were displayed. Some of the motifs from his hometown of Valparaiso. Most of the Chileans in the municipality were from that city. A dear reunion, one can think.

Sources: Länstidningen 5 / 6-1981,30 / 8-1982 text: Christer Duke, the art gallery’s archive material, compiled by: Anneli Karlsson.