One of Mexico's most prolific artist Octavio Ocampo was born in 1943 in Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico. He grew up in a family of designers and studied art from early childhood. His creativity started as a young child. Octavio has worked with many different artists. In art school, Octavio constructed papier-maché figures for floats, altars, and ornaments that were used during carnival parades and other festivals. In high school, Ocampo painted murals for the Preparatory School and the City Hall of Celaya. Ruth Rivera, daughter of artist and muralist Diego Rivera, and Maria Luisa Mendoza encouraged him to attend the School of Painting and Sculpture of the National Fine Art Institute.
His talents are not limited to painting and sculpture, but also extends to acting and dancing. At the Art Institute of San Francisco, he studied all of these disciplines and pursued both a film and theater career. At the age of 33, he began to devote himself solely to painting and sculpturing. He now works primarily in the metamorphic style-a technique of superimposing and juxtaposing realistic and figurative details within the images that he creates.
"I am fascinated by the forces of Good and Evil and the Sun (male) and the Moon (female). I live in Tepoztlan, which is a mountainous region southwest of Mexico City and is considered to be one of the most magical places on earth. Like the Bermuda Triangle, there is a strange and unexplained but extremely powerful, confluence of magnetic forces seemingly concentrated in the Tepozteco Mountain."
When we stepped into Octavio Ocampos' second studio located in Mexico City it was like walking into a museum. His work is well-known all over the world and is constantly used as reference for various types of artwork. As we explore his studio looking at his original artwork we know that this is the real thing and not just a copy of his creations. Surrounded by some of the best artwork in the world, we sit down with Ocampo and ask him a few questions and this is what he had to say.
Can you give us a quick history of yourself?
I was born in Celaya Guanajuato, Mexico. My father, Rafael Angel Ocampo, was an engineer, mechanic and electrician. In his spare time he was a designer and painter. My mother was a homemaker with artistic skills, an actress and did elaborate knitting. Now I live in the city of Tepoztlan Morelos in Mexico. I moved here when I was working as an art director. I have directed more than100 movies. I was also an actor and have been in 10 movies, and I have worked on five Mexican soap operas. I have also acted in 10 theater plays. When I turned 33 years old, I discovered my true calling was painting and I dedicated my life to painting ever since. I decided to paint full time and live in Tepoztlan because I have many friends here and the city has a magical and enchanting feeling that is unique.
How has art influenced your philosophy in life?
I've had artistic talent since I was a child because I was always surrounded by art. I had the capability of piecing two different elements that would look like one flowing piece and then in detail they were individual pieces. I studied plastic arts in the city of Celaya, Mexico, and then I attended the School of Painting and Sculpture in Bellas Artes, Mexico. Later, I took some courses at the Art Institute of San Francisco, California. I used to paint figurative images that were most realistic in detail and frequently had the effect of double imagery in the same place. At the age of 33, I dedicated full time to paint and decided that my style would be what I call "Metamorphic" because when you look at my painting they transform from one image to another. My philosophy is that we live in various universes that are parallel to each other so I showcase that on my paintings. And since I am a Pisces, I feel like it's natural to me. I love to study the relations of the universe and philosophy.