About the artist

CHERMAN (German Quino Ganoza) was born in Lima-Perú in 1969. He is a self-taught graphic artist and the creator of CHERMANY, an imaginary nation where everything is possible through art in its purest expression.

Cherman discovered drawing at a very young age, strongly influenced by his roots and his environment, and the comics and characters that became part of his daily life. Throughout his career, Cherman has stood out for promoting Peruvian culture through his art, as well as for showing and reflecting the multifaceted dimensions of Peruvian society and identity. His work also includes graphics of universal icons and prominent moments in history. Cherman is considered a reference for graphic art in Perú and Latin America.

In addition to drawing as an expression of art, Cherman is knowledgeable about the different graphic processes, printing techniques, architecture, and use of paper. Throughout his 30 plus years of career, Cherman has produced hundreds of original works, limited edition pieces, graphic art in the form of stamps and posters, logos, and art catalogs, to name a few. He has collaborated with organizations such as Operation Smile, Make a Wish, and WWF-World Wide Fund for Nature, and with renowned companies such as Benetton, Converse, Asics, Sony, Adidas, and American Express, among others. Among his most cherished achievements are the creation of the first massive fanzine (a magazine created by fans) in Peru, under the name of Crash Boom Zap, which published 18 issues with 10,000 free copies per print run; and the design of the official jersey for the Peruvian soccer team in 2012, in collaboration with Umbro.

Cherman has participated in dozens of important individual and group exhibitions, both locally and internationally, in renowned art spaces such as the Índigo Gallery, Lucía de la Puente Gallery, La Kasa Roja Gallery, Delbarrio Gallery, 80m2 Gallery, Ricardo Palma Cultural Center, Ceviche Old St Gallery (London), and Ceviche SOHO Gallery (London), to name a few. “Peruvian Selfie” at the ICPNA Gallery (Lima-Peru, 2018) is the most recent and one of the most important exhibitions in Cherman’s career. In April 2019, Cherman was invited by the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology at Harvard University to give a lecture on his work, titled “Chermany – A Peruvian Grafik Xperienz.” His works also adorn various restaurants around the world, such as Sudaka in New Jersey, Celeste in Boston, Ceviche in the United Kingdom, and many in Lima, such as Panchita and Plaza San Martín, among others.

In addition to being a graphic artist, Cherman is a self-taught musician and composer. Since 1998, he’s participated in various bands such as Los Imposibles, 8CC, QEPD Carreño, La Patrulla del Alma, Sayonara, and Las Zanahorias Rayadas. He has also participated in multiple musical presentations with the Integro group and other performing artists.

The “K”

Crash Boom Zap was a fanzine edited, designed, and published by Cherman in 1998. It was in this fanzine that he began to utilize the letter “K” in his written materials, replacing the letters Q and C which have the same sound in Spanish. This resource was the result of a study on how to use space that derives from the artist’s experience of learning to design while producing. Over time, the use of the letter “K” became one of Cherman’s trademarks, and he continues to use it in all his designs, artwork, and texts (in Spanish).

MANIFESTO 

People say that some are born with a silver spoon in their mouth, but I was born with a pencil in my hand. My first memories of drawing go back to my kindergarten years when I found myself submerged in my imaginative bubble and woke up surrounded by my classmates and my teacher watching me draw. I thus discovered the power of drawing. That was the beginning of what would be my social, cultural, and graphic training. Drawing is, to this day, my everyday communication tool.

My foundation rests in the newsstands of my neighborhood, where I discovered the work of many other creative souls and artists who found the power to communicate messages with substance through comics. That, along with my curiosity about history and social issues, made me see the graphic arts as a multidimensional pathway. All these experiences gave way to CHERMANY.

CHERMANY’s mission is to represent honest art amid this technological and commercial communication revolution in which we live and to be able to transmit a social message revaluing the basic principles of humanity. CHERMANY seeks to be a source of positive energy, communicating social messages through popular graphic art, striving to be a new trigger for communication.

Graphic art has been with us for centuries. My goal is to use it as a cultural legacy that protects and defends my principles and contributes to spreading important values. Hopefully, it invites people to believe in the best version of themselves and engages the audience in the same way my drawings did when I was in kindergarten.

Cherman