Rubèn Ramonda, currently living between Montreal and New York, has recently turned his attention to the sport of running, specifically the ING New York Marathon. This year, Mr. Ramonda was chosen by the Central Park Conservancy, along with other international artists and celebrities, to create a unique “park bench” art to honor the 150th birthday of Central Park. His art was inspired by the Marathon and its importance to the Park’s history.

Ruben Ramonda has being selected to created 2 international stamps for Argentinean Post Offices among, seventy-one national postal administrations around the world. They that have issue special stamps to commemorate FIFA’s Centennial and its contribution to the world of football today. The stamps designs received so collaboration with the International Olympic Committee and the Universal Postal Union on this particular project. And will be publish by the Italian Bolaffi - an Italian company that creates, edits and trades a large range of philatelic items, including stamp albums celebrating sporting events and sporting organizations - has been granted a worldwide license (with the exception of Germany, which will be covered by Borek) to publish and distribute philatelic items, including postage stamps produced by the national postal administrations participating in FIFA’s Centennial Philatelic Program.

The concept behind the stamps is to represent the evolution. The children, represent the dream and the past. Playing in the open field, the color yellow symbolizes the sun the freedom of the game, and the professional players, at the world cup. were the precision and the perfection blend. The color blue, symbolized the television screen color.

Rubèn Ramonda is world renowned for his dramatic paintings of soccer, the most popular sport in his native Argentina. In recent years Ramonda, who is based in New York City and Siena, Italy, has turned his attention to running, specifically the ING New York City Marathon.

The project, Target Benchmarks New York, is presented by the Conservancy in coordination with Target Stores. It transforms approximately 50 ordinary park benches into unique works of art. Among the artists, architects, designers, and celebrities participating are Jenny Holzer, Ross Bleckner, Diane Von Furstenburg, Michael Graves, Sigourney Weaver, and the cast of "Saturday Night Live." Following display of the works in and around the park through the summer and fall, the benches will be auctioned at Christie's to benefit the Central Park Conservancy. (See page 45 for more on Central Park's 150th birthday.)

Ramonda's work is a canvas of the 2002 New York City Marathon, placed on a bench that also holds his brushes and paints. "This is my way of placing myself inside the event," he explains.

To Ramonda, the marathon is an obvious subject for a Central Park-related piece. "Central Park has no other event with as much international attention as the New York City Marathon," he says. "Also, the marathon was born in Central Park."

He calls the marathon, "a very poetic sport. The finish line is whatever you want it to be, a symbol of so many things."

New York Runner, Summer 2003 page 21