Omar d’Leon

Paintings and Drawings in Memorial

EXHIBIT: Feb – March 2026

Paintings and drawings by Omar D’León (1929 – August 26, 2022).  Omar was a celebrated Nicaraguan painter and poet whose art blends Impressionism, magical realism, and deeply personal symbolism inspired by his homeland’s spirit and history.

• Technique & Visual Style:
  D’León developed a multi-layered painting method using oil, wax, and cross-hatching (scores made with a knife), creating rhythmic textures and light effects that almost seem pointillistic. His use of opposite contrasting colors and layers gives his canvases a vibrant, luminous, and three-dimensional quality.

• Imagery & Symbolism:
  His works often depict sensuous, fluid forms, mythical scenes, and human figures that evoke mythology, spirituality, and emotional depth. These elements reflect a magical-realist sensibility — the ordinary feels dreamlike and profound.

• Influences:
  D’León was inspired by the frescos of Pompeii (especially their cross-hatch structure) and trained in Impressionism under mentor Rodrigo Peñalba, which shaped his color sensibility and compositional layering.

• Themes:
  His art expresses a deep love for Nicaragua — its landscape, people, and cultural life — while also embodying loss, memory, and resilience due to his personal experiences, including displacement after the Sandinista Revolution. Religion, community, and classical beauty also appear as recurring motifs.

• Legacy:
  D’León’s paintings are held in major museum collections worldwide and his work is recognized for its rich texture, emotional resonance, and fusion of technique with poetic imagination.