Anna Ortiz is a Mexican-American painter living in Brooklyn. Growing up in
Worcester Massachusetts, Ortiz spent much of her childhood visiting her
family in Guadalajara Mexico. There she studied art with her grandfather
Alfonso who was a professional portrait painter as well as with her aunt
Lolita, a professional sculptor.
Ortiz’s surrealist landscapes reference the cultural divide she and so many
second generation Americans feel. Their narrative nature references
ancient Aztec and Mayan mythology while reflecting back on current and
personal events. Out of the ruins of their previous existence, these new
creatures inhabit a borderland between memory and imagination. Dualities
define them; they give them shape. Weaving together invented spaces with
references to actual places, the paintings take both a familiar tone and a
sense of the uncanny.
Ortiz is a recipient of the 2024 NYFA Artist Fellowship. Ortiz has had solo
exhibitions with Mindy Solomon Gallery, Deanna Evans Projects and
Dinner Gallery. She has shown her work with 1969 Gallery, Johansson
Projects and Monya Rowe. She has also exhibited internationally, at the
CAN art fair in Ibiza, in Mexico City with MAIA and in London with Soho
Revue. Her work has been featured in Art Forum, Maake Magazine and
Colossal. She has been the recipient of various residencies including CAA
in Mallorca, The Golden Foundation and the Vermont Studio Center. She
has a forthcoming residency at Yaddo summer 2025.