BÁO CHÍ & XUẤT BẢN
Young artists of Mexican American heritage are gaining visibility for work that often touches on their ethnic identity—along with other themes, from the conceptual to the formal.
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This exhibition reinforces Liverpool’s reputation as the Nashville of the North. From sound installations to paintings, videos and photography
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As one walks in the front door of Art Palace, there are a series of black and white photos of a scrolling-text electric sign. The images capture
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Here they are, sorted by city, our picks for the best shows in Texas this fall!
Read MoreYoung artists of Mexican American heritage are gaining visibility for work that often touches on their ethnic identity—along with other themes, from the conceptual to the formal.
Read More
Cruz Ortiz uses print, performance, and video to embrace issues relating to his experience growing up in the bi-cultural landscape of South Texas. Replacing classical icons with symbols of contemporary pop culture such as taco trucks, canned beans, and an alter ego named Spaztek, Ortiz's work maintains a tense relationship with consumerism and his heritage. One is never sure whether he is selling an idea, a product, or a revolution.
While much of Ortiz's work has focused on the idea and efficacy of protests in the post-Civil Rights era, a related strain explores the type of melancholic love sung about in Conjunto, Tejano, and Country music. Through videos and prints Spaztek futilely chases amor just as protesters long to create change. With a methodological approach that often forsakes institutional space for guerrilla tactics and public outreach, Ortiz's work is multi-layered, cross-cultural, and unconventionally charged.
Born in Houston, TX in 1972, Cruz Ortiz lives in San Antonio, TX, where he received his BFA from The University of Texas at San Antonio in 2000. Solo shows include Dallas Center for Contemporary Art, TX (2003) and the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, San Antonio, TX (2001). Group exhibitions include ev+a, Limerick, Ireland (2005); San Juan Triennial, Puerto Rico (2004); and San Antonio Museum of Art, TX (2001). He was also included in 2008's “Phantom Sightings” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California, and was an ArtPace resident in San Antonio in 2006. Ortiz is represented by the David Shelton Gallery in San Antonio.
For additional information about this artist, visit Mutual Art
