Jose Fermin Ovalle
Visual Artist | Sculptor and Painter | Explorer of Light, Color, Movement, and Perception
Fermín Ovalle is a Colombian visual artist whose work unfolds at the intersection of geometric abstraction, the movement of light, and the essential connection between human beings and the natural world. Originally trained as a radiologist, Ovalle found in art a way to translate his deep understanding of anatomy, vital rhythms, and perception into visual creations that celebrate energy, beauty, and transformation.
His artistic approach strikes a balance between scientific discipline and creative freedom. Clinical observation evolves into aesthetic sensitivity, and technical precision becomes a means to explore light as a driving force of life, shadow as a refuge for uncertainty, and geometry as a universal language that transcends cultures, times, and emotions.
Ovalle expanded his background with art studies at Universidad de los Andes and is currently deepening his creative journey through an artist residency at Fundación Cergui, a hub for contemporary artistic dialogue and innovation. For over a decade, he has worked at the renowned architecture studio of David Restrepo, an experience that profoundly shaped his sensitivity toward scale, spatial rhythm, and the transformative power of natural light.
He also actively collaborates with world-famous architect and interior designer Juan Montoya Isaacs, enriching his practice with a refined sense of materiality, atmosphere, and spatial storytelling.
In his work, Ovalle consciously explores the relationship between uncertainty—understood as a vital engine of life—and the human need for repetitive patterns that create a sense of calm and equilibrium. Much like in nature or music, where rhythm and repetition foster inner peace, his compositions offer visual sanctuaries where movement, light, and geometry weave together into sequences that invite contemplation and stillness.
For Ovalle, art is not merely an object; it’s a portal—a living experience that connects natural stories and human memory. His pieces emerge from an exhaustive study of architectural spaces and natural environments. Proportions, the way light enters a space, textures, and noble materials all quietly shape the creation of each work. Space itself—its geography, atmosphere, and spirit—reveals the forms Ovalle brings to life through color, volume, and matter.
In his latest series, Colorama, Ovalle uses polyurethane paint and metal on wood to create vibrant, sculptural surfaces filled with rhythm, chromatic nuances, and dynamic energy, transforming how we experience inhabited spaces. Works like Braiding the Green, Rebirth, and Perennial Joy capture the vitality of nature and translate it into geometric compositions that invite reflection on beauty, resilience, and the passage of time.
His practice is fueled by deep experimental curiosity combined with strong technical mastery—nurtured over years of self-taught artistic exploration, close contact with architecture, and a passionate study of materials and their expressive possibilities. Ovalle believes that bold artistic innovation is never random; it’s born from deep study, respect for craft, and a relentless drive for excellence.
Through his studio, Fermín Ovalle Studio based in Bogotá, he develops projects that transcend the individual artwork to engage architecture, landscape, and the emotions of those who interact with his pieces. Each sculpture, painting, and installation is imagined as a microcosm—a space for life, desire, and dreams, where natural memory, intuition, and aesthetic balance converge.
Today, Ovalle is expanding his international reach, participating in private collections, architectural collaborations, and public art projects. His vision remains rooted in a commitment to create works that celebrate the vastness of life, nurture well-being, and spark imagination through light, color, and form.
