╳ It’s time to showcase the genius photography of Ruven Afanador. This internationally renowned photographer possesses a limitless imagination, opulent classicism and a profound sense of self. His idiosyncratic visual language is informed by the fierce emotion and lavish style of his Latin American heritage and he is a true original. 
╳ Born in Colombia, Mr Afandor moved to the US to attend school when he was fourteen. A starkly different place from the magical world of his childhood, he discovered photography whilst studying art. “From my first assignment I knew that photography would be my life’s passion” says Afanador. After graduation, he scuttled off to Washington where after two years he had built up a portfolio of “audacious taste.” Seeking to broaden his horizons he moved to Milan in 1987 where he honed his skills however a lack of studio space forced him into out into alleyways and streets where he integrated churches and palazzos into his ‘frames’ thus creating backgrounds with texture, realism and depth, which he still uses to this day. Whilst in Italy, he also discovered a ‘type’ of model that would become his prototype: interesting rather than conventionally beautiful, with sculptural arms and legs, and the graceful long torso for centuries favoured by painters. ╳ Returning to New York in 1990 with an even more impressive portfolio Afanador caught the attention of magazine Editors, and since then his distinct fashion editorials, signature advertisements and iconic portraits have constantly appeared in the world’s leading fashion magazines. Afanador’s work has been the subject of numerous exhibitions and installations in galleries and museums across Latin America, Europe and the US.
╳ The singularity of Ruven Afanador’s aesthetic can be seen most visibly in his three books which have become collectors’ items among fashion and photography connoisseurs. In his extensive body of work, this genius has created an intensely personal language characterised by bold emotion and delicate nuance. His expressive images reveal extravagant dream-like sequences that are always splendid (and sometimes mischievous) but most significantly, in a world of generic homogenised definitions of beauty and imposed female stereotypes, Ruven Afanador juxtaposes masculine force with feminine strength to challenge conventional definitions of gender and beauty with confidence. 
