PAINTED WOODEN OBJECTS
The most mundane objects intrigue and move us - forward, inward and upward. They provide us the power to change - literally and metaphorically - location, context, and perspective.
Objects painted are oars, shoe lasts, barrels, boards, end tables, wooden baseball bats.
“In the Wooden Soldiers series of the exhibition COLORED, shown at 1053 Gallery in summer 2024 Ortiz’ artistic meditations take on a more mystical bent. The work originated in Winter 2023 when he was preparing oak, maple and ash firewood for the wood-burning stove in his studio. The firewood began to take on anthropomorphic qualities, each piece giving him a message of what it was to become. He listened and worked intuitively, tracing what he saw with a pencil and then unveiling the spirits and creatures as he carved the wooden blocks. What emerged was, “a little army of wooden fairies to guide and protect the show’s body of work,” he says. The final carving in the series is of a Madonna.”
- Lindsay Comstock, curator 1053 Gallery
Acrylic hand painted on wooden objects. Varnished. 2022 - 2024