The world of dreams is a seed box for bringing to bloom the most exciting artistic creativity. At the hotel Eurostars Zarzuela Park (Madrid) an exhibition entitled “Soñar” (Dreaming) has been presented, to take place from 27 May to 15 July. This is an original, pictorial proposition brought to us by José Luis Ocio (Santander, 1950). A personal show in which the artist proposes an original game: living our dreams. Would you dare?

José Luis Ocio has evolved, throughout his artistic career, focusing on the portrayal of the human being. In this exhibition on the Eurostars Zarzuela Park premises, this artist stresses the importance of dreaming in our lives, by means of dreamlike images but of a realistic nature, similar to the magical realism used in literature by Gabriel García Márquez. Thus, paintings by this artist portray scenes such as family chats, celebrations, events or even religious services.

In the composition of his work, Ocio uses an elaborate technique similar to that used in the theatrical world. “I concentrate on observing everything that happens around us, which is plenty, adding the expression and gestures characteristic of each person”, he explains. And, although José Luis Ocio defines his work as “from the gut”, the creation process his paintings go through comprises different phases. “I always start off from sketching as the means to resolve the problem and from there I investigate different composition solutions for the paintings”, he explains. This investigation process produces a large amount of sketches from which, eventually, the painting will evolve.