At 17, he took first place at a French speaking competition and won a trip to France, where he learned about Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris and Joan Miró.

Upon completing his master's degree in 1947, he began working in the studio Atelier 17 with Stanley William Hayter, who applied the techniques of printmaking to surrealist art.

He worked with his brother Enrique to explore the possibilities of old printmaking techniques from artists like Yves Tanguy, Kurt Seligmann, Jacques Lipchitz and Joan Miró.

[1] In even worse conditions is Quinchamalí (1958) at the Juan Esteban Montero Gallery: the paint of the mural is peeling and warping due to the humidity.

The following year, the Chilean Government created the "Commission Nemesio Antúnez", in charge of supervising laws concerning art.