During my visit to Barcelona in June I had the great pleasure to meet a fine artist. In the living area of his huge three story studio in central Barcelona this modest and humble man told me a story of contact unlike any I had heard, and I have heard many. I listened very carefully and asked many questions. For me, there is no doubt whatsoever this story is true.
Robert Llimos was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1943 and has had a lengthy career as a painter and sculptor that began at the end of the sixties with the Nueva Figuración (1965-1968). Between 1969-1973 he went through a period of conceptual experimentation to then return to figurative painting, placing a great emphasis on color. His work has been the object of solo exhibitions in the Museum Bochum, Germany (1994), Galería Alejandro Sales, Barcelona (2009); Fundació Vila Casas, Barcelona (2010). Amongst his group exhibitions highlights are his unofficial participation in the Kassel Documenta 5 and, in that same year, the Encuentros of Pamplona. He has participated in group exhibitions in institutions such as; the Museo del Barrio, New York (1976 and 1978); the Fundació Miró, Barcelona (1979, 1983 and 1992); the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (1996, 1997, 2005); the Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid (2004, 2009) and the Fundació Suñol, Barcelona (2010), among many others. In 1994, the Generalitat de Catalonia awarded him the Premi de Arts Plàsticas. In Barcelona some of his public sculptures can be seen, among them: Marc (1997) in the Olympic Village and Mirastels (2006) a floating sculpture in the port of Barcelona.
In short, Mr. Llimós is a highly accomplished artist of considerable skill and range. His career was rich with praise and interest from collectors throughout Europe. And then something extraordinary happened that changed his life for ever. Here is how Robert describes this event. (Translated from Spanish)
“In 2009, on a trip to Fortaleza, Brazil, I went for a walk looking for inspiration from the landscape. Its mounds of sand dunes rose to the horizon, stood by four trees against a cloudy sky, a spectacular scenery. To my surprise, there was a UFO, half camouflaged by clouds. Here we are, I thought, they exist for real! They are in front of me, I have a notebook and a pencil in my hand, this is my chance, I have a new image!
My senses were absorbing everything that was being presented to me, and I began to draw what I was seeing. Lights, lines and the camouflage effect of the spaceship with fogs and clouds. With my eyes on the paper, I realized that lights began to project over me. I was being scanned. I looked at the spaceship, and I saw an open glass window and inside its yellow interior, there were two beings that were observing me, a man and a woman, both with very long necks and scaly skin. The woman had a tiara on her head and a long dress, the man a jacket, showing an archaic and noble look. I think that two or three hours passed, too long for just ten notes, ten drawings in pencil without getting into the characters, although I keep their very presence in my memories.
Back in Barcelona, I started painting fast and intensively, as I had an exhibition and wanted to introduce this new theme. The exhibition was organized by Alejandro Sales Gallery, its title was Contact, and was due to open on October 1, 2009. When Veronica Soto, one of the several journalists that came to the show, called me to thank me for the interview, our conversation was interrupted by little voices and sharp breaths. They were not mechanical interference. There were pauses and feelings, but totally incomprehensible. We both agreed that they were thanking us for disclosing their existence. This happened to me a total of five times during the exhibition.
Everyone asks me why this experience happened to me. I know it’s strange, and it still remains strange to me, but I think it´s because I can explain graphically, and they have chosen to show themselves in an illustrative form, without sensational stories, fictions or cinematography that frightens the society.
Thanks to the different painting techniques I mastered, I was able to capture the experience, which has changed my way of seeing art and life, in a more precise manner. Painting is a valid method to capture thes
I think interpreting this contact has led me to an answer of the sculpture Miraestels, which I have in the port of Barcelona. It protects the sea while looking up to the sky for help. I have always thought it would serve to contact with the beyond and finally it has. I hope this “big brother” will help us clean up this world and make it a better place to live in.”e images that have never been represented before, let alone photography of this theme.
The dunes Robert had visited to do some drawing were about two kilometers from the sea. Clouds had rolled in and the massive ship emerged from behind a large cloud bank and hovered before Robert close to the ground perhaps no more than a few hundred feet away.
His answers to my questions indicated he lost between one to two hours of time, has no memories of being on the ship and has only been regressed once by a television show seeking ratings. The regression was unprofessional and done in a chaotic environment of cameras and journalists. Nothing was learned.
Consequently I am making queries to arrange proper regression sessions for Mr. Llimos in order to find out what may have happened during the missing time lost that day in the dunes in Brazil. One can only imagine what he might create from such reclaimed memories.
There is a reason I have taken an active interest in this case – something I rarely do. Robert Llimos became obsessed with his powerful experience and for the past ten years has exclusively devoted his artistic talents to depicting that experience in paintings and sculpture. He has created some extraordinary work, and he has become persona non grata in the art world.
He was candid about his contact experience and shared the details with artists, agents and friends. As soon as possible after the event he did a gallery showing. Then the agents drifted away, buyers became scarce as did gallery showings. Spain is a conservative country that has gone along with the U.S. instigated truth embargo. The skittish art world was not comfortable with all things extraterrestrial – not the least being the idea of contact. Nevertheless, Robert Llimos would not relent. His work continues.
Based on his account and answers to my questions I think his contact was a one-off event with a ship with portals for viewing. There is much similarity between his experience and that of Betty and Barney Hill. The beings portrayed are unlike any I am aware of from the contact literature. The ship is of a type that is rarely seen. If any readers are aware of similar accounts, please direct me to relevant links.
Robert Llimos is 74 and tired. It has been a difficult ten years for this proud man whose father was also a fine artist – such a legacy. So, it was with great pleasure that I was able to bring to his attention many of the recent developments. There was something he needed to know.
The list of highly skilled artists with long and accomplished careers who have had an extraterrestrial contact experience is not long. And the list of those who have created a huge body of work based upon that contact is shorter still. The art world may have turned its back on the last ten years of Robert Llimos’ work, but I have this question for all to consider.
How much do you think the contact art of Robert Llimos (and all his previous works) will be valued after the United States and Russia and China and France and, yes, Spain have confirmed the extraterrestrial presence engaging the human race – Disclosure? Care to put a number to that?
Stephen Bassett
Los Angeles, CA
July 4, 2018
