About this book

The Wind among the Leaves

The Wind among the Leaves is a portrait of one of the most outstanding collections of bonsais in Europe, that of Luis Vallejo, and of the collector himself through his collection. Far from taking a botanical approach to the specimens, the book presents these trees from a poetic perspective and by looking back to the age when they were designed and created. It does so first through images: a corpus of photographs taken by Fernando Maquieira over the course of several years of dialogue with the collection, and the sober musicality of Carmen Ballvé’s introduction in pictures – two languages to describe the same universe. And through words, also in two idioms: Following a presentation by Felipe González comes a series of short texts or quotations interspersed with the trees to represent their creator’s gaze, either evoking an experience or invoking a literary association; and José María Parreño’s narration, which takes readers on a journey to the world of bonsais through various pieces of information or written testimonies, both historical and imaginary, pieced together by chance guided by meaning. Finally, the volume is enhanced through the sketchbooks, which represent the simplest and most direct form of expression of the author’s link with his trees.

The Wind among the Leaves
The Wind among the Leaves

Special edition of 150 copies, 70 in Spanish and 80 in English, numbered and signed by the author.

The special edition includes a photographic work by Carmen Ballvé or Fernando Maquieira, being able to choose between both (there are 75 prints by Carmen Ballvé and 75 photographs by Fernando Maquieira).

Fotograbado Carmen Ballvé. A los pinos el viento

Photogravure
Carmen Ballvé
Untitled, 2022

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Fotografía Fernando Maquieira. A los pinos el viento

Photography
Fernando Maquieira
Acer palmatum «yamamomiji», 2022

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About the author

Luis Vallejo

As well as an author and the owner of this collection of bonsais, Luis Vallejo is a landscape gardener with a long track record. Prominent among his national and international projects are the gardens of the Hotel Royal Mansour in Marrakech and the Hospital Universitario Río Hortega in Valladolid, and those of Banco Santander’s Ciudad Financiera and the Castellana 81 tower, the last two in Madrid, as well as other private gardens and estates in Spain, Italy, Israel, Morocco and the Middle East. He is also the curator and director of the Museo del Bonsái in Alcobendas, which houses his collection, and formerly created and curated the bonsai collection of the Real Jardín Botánico in Madrid. In 2008 he received the Order of the Rising Sun conferred by the emperor of Japan, the highest distinction the country’s government awards to foreign citizens for their dissemination and promotion of Japanese culture in other countries.

Luis Vallejo. Foto de Carmen Ballve