José Ortiz

My work is based on relationships, relationships between man and nature, body and spirit. My art is a way of communicating past, present and future through my connection and understanding of the world around me. I focus on subject matters that I have experienced which allows me to bring my truth to the viewer.

My paintings are created through a process of layering that I build up through the use of various media including photography, printmaking, collage and the application of paint. The layering allows for the work to develop free of categorization and stay true.

My desire is to make work that communicates through symbols and metaphors that are common in every day life. Stories allow me to connect with a past and imbue the work with timelessness. I am attracted to mythology and view it as a way of bringing a subject into perspective by juxtaposing multiple ideas in order to compare and contrast. Through the study of what are commonly known as myths we discover the syncretism that ties all people and cultures.