In 1975, the Colombian art critic Fausto Panesso published the book Los intocables, in which he presented six interviews with some of the most important artists of the twentieth century in Colombia. One of them was the painter and sculptor Eduardo Ramírez Villamizar. The conversation between these two public figures starts with a funny, enjoyable story about Ramírez’s private life, and continues with a step-by-step explanation of his work as an artist. He talks about his family life and the relationship with his native city, Pamplona [Colombia,] in the Norte de Santander department, as one factor that determined the early years of his life. As a student with provincial origins, his stay in Bogotá was complicated, including his experience as a member of the architecture faculty of the Universidad Nacional of Colombia. To him, the most inspiring trips he took were long ones: two to Paris (1950 to 1952 and 1954 to 1958) and one to New York City (1962 to 1963). In both cities, he found favorable atmospheres, friends, and colleagues who would directly define his professional development. Through the whole conversation, the artist and critic make a joint effort to provide a chronological analysis of the artwork created by Ramírez Villamizar, his influences, his early years in painting, his involvement in geometric abstract art, and his transition from two-dimensional work to work defined by volume.

The interview done by the Colombian writer Fausto Panesso (b. 1953) of the sculptor and painter Eduardo Ramírez Villamizar (1922–2004) is one of the most complete documents about this artist and his work. There are two reasons why this text is an essential reference work on the artist. First, it presents a detailed chronological review of the entire body of the artist’s work. In his own words, Ramírez Villamizar closes in on his work, the changes in the type of work he does over time, and how he managed to become part of the Colombian art world.

Secondly, this interview is especially interesting and rich within the bibliography of Ramírez Villamizar because the artist continues to provide detailed descriptions of the way he worked at various times in his life. He starts out with a description of his relationship with art materials from the time when he was a child. One story he tells about his childhood is that the “most emotional moment in his entire life as an artist” happened when he made a dog out of clay. He also tells of his time spent as a draftsman, and as a painter with "Expressionist" tendencies who copied works by Georges Rouault (1871–1958). As a sculptor, he did not start with sketches but rather went straight to “constructing” mock-ups with volume, using pieces of cardboard and adhesive tape. It is striking how Ramírez Villamizar takes the readers into his workplace and shows us how he cuts, pastes, makes lines, copies, traces, and welds.

Most of the texts on Ramírez Villamizar analyze and describe his work in philosophical, critical, and historical terms. What is significant in this interview is that it shows his work in material and formal terms. Here is a detailed portrait of the artist as a builder and artisan. This point is completely consistent with his artistic intentions; in the same interview, he states that in geometric abstraction, he found the most effective medium for making art. Working in that mode, he no longer had to think about making “connections with the real universe,” or looking around for “secret formulas” to make his work fit into the world. According to Ramírez Villamizar, his work, his experimentation, and the movement from one technique to another, along with his ongoing focus on art materials, were what allowed him to create and distinguish himself.