40th Emilio Ollero National Painting Prize (Jaén, 2026)
Valencian visual artist José María Cal has been shortlisted for the 40th Emilio Ollero National Painting Prize in Jaén (2026) with his work "La Casa Dormida" (The Sleeping House), created in 2026. The oil-on-canvas painting measures 100 cm in height by 100 cm in width.
New work by the Valencian artist: Donde los campos olvidan el tiempo
EL MAR CUANDO NADIE LO MIRA
43rd “Jesús
Madero” National Painting Competition.
The Valencian
visual artist José María Cal is a finalist in the 43rd Jesús
Madero National Painting Prize with his work "The Sea When No
One Is Looking," created in 2026. The oil on canvas measures 120
cm high by 120 cm wide.
Public Exhibition: The selected
physical works will be exhibited in the "Agustín Úbeda"
Exhibition Hall from September 18 to 27, 2026, coinciding with the
Herencia Town Hall Fair and Festivals (Ciudad Real).
MEMÒRIA DE PLATJA MARINA
Preselected. The author, in his usual research on the landscape, addresses on this occasion a poetic tension between the real and the imagined to explore the territory of entertainment and play. Thus, the work investigates the playful as a transformative force that intervenes in reality, colors it, disorganizes it and resignifies it. The cliff and the sea remain, but they are no longer the same: they have been crossed by the experience of abstract play.
L´ARBRE CREMAT´
L'artista en les seves investigacions habituals sobre el territori i el paisatge ens proposa en aquesta obra una reflexió sobre la naturalesa del dolor i la capacitat d'adaptació. L'arbre, desposseït de la seva vegetació i la seva vitalitat visible, ens recorda que la veritable força rau en la capacitat de resistir, de sostenir-se malgrat les ferides. És un testament a la vida que es nega a ser extingida, a l'esperança que brolla de les cendres cremades.
A l'esquerra de l'obra les flames ho envaeixen tot. A la
dreta, el foc, que ja no crema, va deixar les seves marques
representades en aquest cas per petites línies geomètriques i
quadrícules de dolços colors apastelats. La destrucció aquí no és
un final, sinó un punt d'inflexió. És la metamorfosi del que va
ser en allò que és. De l'exhuberància a la sobrietat. L'arbre
cremat no simbolitza la mort, sinó la resistència de les seves
arrels invisibles sota el terra que s'aferren encara amb força ferma
a la roca ia la terra, nodrint-se de la seva pròpia memòria.
L'arbre cremat és una talaia de dignitat a l'adversitat, un
monument a la bellesa de la supervivència. Ens indica que, fins i
tot quan allò exterior s'esvaeix, l'essència roman. És una trucada
per acceptar el constant canvi a les nostres vides. Aquesta
acceptació ens permet a les persones dissipar l'aferrament i el
patiment promovent la vivència plena del present. El vell arbre es
manté dret, no pel que ha perdut, sinó pel que encara és: un ressò
del seu passat i la promesa de noves històries per viure i
experimentar.
In his ongoing explorations of territory and landscape, the artist offers us in this work a reflection on the nature of pain and the capacity for adaptation. The tree, stripped of its vegetation and visible vitality, reminds us that true strength lies in the ability to resist, to endure despite the wounds. It is a testament to life that refuses to be extinguished, to the hope that springs from the burnt ashes.
On the left side of the work, flames engulf everything. On the right, the fire, no longer burning, has left its marks, represented here by small geometric lines and grids of soft pastel colors. Destruction here is not an end, but a turning point. It is the metamorphosis of what was into what is. From exuberance to sobriety. The burned tree does not symbolize death, but rather the resilience of its invisible roots beneath the soil, which still cling firmly to the rock and the earth, nourished by its own memory.
The burned tree is a beacon of dignity in adversity, a monument to the beauty of survival. It reminds us that even when the outward appearance fades, the essence remains. It is a call to accept the constant change in our lives. This acceptance allows us to let go of attachment and suffering, fostering a full experience of the present. The old tree stands, not because of what it has lost, but because of what it still is: an echo of its past and the promise of new stories to live and experience.
The Valencian visual artist Jose María Cal presents his new solo painting exhibition. Dársena Art Space in the port of Alicante. Opening on Thursday, March 5th, and on view until June 15th, 2026.
EL JARDÍN DE LOS SIGNOS
XXXV PREMIO PINTURA Y ESCULTURA CIUDAD DE ALORA
The visual artist Jose
María Cal has been selected as a finalist in the 35th "City of
Alora" Painting and Sculpture Prize, Málaga, with his work
"Lands of Patagonia," created in 2025. The oil on canvas
measures 120 cm high by 100 cm wide.
The exhibition will be
open to the public from Friday, October 24th to Sunday, November
16th, 2025, at La Cancula Exhibition Hall. Avda. Cervantes s/n 29500
Álora (Málaga).
CACAO FRUIT
My new Art Studio. Address Puerto de Sagunto, (Valencia) Spain.
You are invited to visit it and see my works.
