‘Poemario y Obras Pictóricas’ is a book by José Soto, which has been presented this week at the Casino de Agricultura.  It is a book of his reflections on life and his art. This is the life of a man from Extremadura, son of a cattle farmer, who started out looking after goats and sheep… and ended up with having his own paintings  hung in the best houses and offices in Valencia!

Soto was accompanied by the architect Luis Sendra, and by Mayrén Beneyto who emphasised the generosity of the author in his presentation: “José is transparent as his painting and full of life that he shares with his friends, his generosity shows in his art”. For Sendra: “José Soto is a true stoic of the 21st century who offers us in his book  real reflections of his time, which is very much appreciated in these times in which the unimportant is often being debated”.

Soto explained that he had never imagined he was going to be a painter or a writer but his impulse to express himself led him to do so. There is colour in his painting, but above all warmth, because, as the artist explains “if you don’t put feeling into it, it doesn’t make sense”.

In the book, in fact, the images of his paintings are the ones that accompany the book of poems  with titles as suggestive as ‘Luna de Fuego’, ‘Mosaic of Feeling’, ‘The Temple of Joy’ or ‘Talisman’.

Report by ‘24/7 Valencia’ team

Article copyright ‘24/7 Valencia’