victor delfn born 20 december 1927 in lobitos peru is one of the leading sculptors and painters in peruhe is best known for his monumental el beso the kiss a large sculpture unveiled in 1993 in the love park by the pacific ocean in the miraflores district of lima many newlyweds visit the park to pose in front of the sculpture it also draws throngs of lovers from all areas of lima celebrating valentines day each february 14delfn has a worldwide reputation his art has been exhibited across south and north america and is housed in major museum and private collections delfn is highly regarded for his massive metalwork sculptures of birds horses and other animals as well as sensual often sexually charged paintings his art can also have a strong political theme such as 1996 chronicle that denounced with great irony the corruption and authoritarianism during the regime of alberto fujimori delfns studio in the artistic barranco district of lima overlooks the ocean his house filled with his paintings and sculptures is now a bedandbreakfast run by his daughterdelfn works with a range of materialswood metal canvas even polychrome acrylics and aluminum one of the main distinguishing features of delfns work is that in the context of experimentalism which at the time was mainly focused on art styles systems and institutions and would lead to a crisis of representation and an ensuing widening of the material possibilities of production in plastic arts delfn also took it upon himself to ensure the continuity of a creative current socially subordinated to the current proclaimed as art by modernist idealismdelfn was the youngest child of eight in a poor family of a welder in lobitos a fishing village and grew up watching and helping his father grind bits for oil rigs in his workshop at 14 he won a scholarship to art school in lima and then eight years later he became eligible for a scholarship abroad but chose instead the peruvian city of ayacucho there i learned what art is all about he said i saw socalled folk artists the despised primitives creating masterpieces delfn graduated from the national school of fine arts in lima esescuela nacional de bellas artes de lima in 1958 in 1959 he was appointed director of puno school of fine arts after a brief stint as an art teacher in chile he set up his workshop in barranco in 1965 in 1967 he was awarded first prize in the category of contemporary folk art at the folk art biennial in lima many other awards and honors have followed and delfn has exerted great influence over the development of peruvian art in the later half of the 20th centurydelfn helped organize writers and authors in opposition to fujimori and in 1995 participated in the caucus for peace which brought together artists to protest the threat of conflict between peru and ecuador in 2000 delfn addressed young peruvians in an open letter encouraging their protests but warning of a looming struggle against the dictator retaking power