CRUZ ORTIZ
Born 1972 Houston, Texas. Lives and works in San Antonio, Texas.
Education University of Texas at San Antonio. Bachelors of Fine Arts, Concentration in Printmaking. 2000
Exhibitions
2023 “Earth Laughs In Flowers” (group) at Allana Miller Gallery in New York City, New York
2023 “Shifting Between The Suns” (solo) at Scott Miller Projects in Birmingham, Alabama
2023 “New Landscapes Part 1” (group) at Atkinson Gallery in Santa Barbara, California
2023 “High and Away” (group) at The Longtime in Austin, Texas
2023 “Jason Archer, Larry McMeans, and Cruz Ortiz” (group) at Commerce Gallery in Lockhart, Texas
2023 “Corridos Super Mas Fuerte” (solo) at Ivester Contemporary in Austin, Texas
2023 “Danza de Los Cosmicos” (solo) at Lone Gallery in Dallas, Texas
2022 “Los Jardines” (solo) at Nancy Littlejohn Fine Art in Houston, Texas
2022 “Americana y mas” (group) at Neighborhood Store in Dallas, Texas
2021 “En Vivo Projections” (solo) at the Judd Foundation, in Marfa, Texas
2020 “In Plain SIght” (group) at the site of South Texas Immigration Detention Center, San Antonio, Texas, curated by Rafa Esparza and Cassils
2019 “yo creo k i think this amor is forevers” (solo) at Veinte Veinte gallery, Mexico City, curated by Leslie Moody Castro
2019 “100 AÑOS” (solo) Nancy Littlejohn Fine Art in Houston, Texas
2018 “After Posada: Revolution” (group) The El Paso Museum of Art curated by Kate Green in El Paso, Texas
2018 “Love and Loss by Cruz Oritz” (solo) The Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation in Ojai, California
2017 “Texas biennial” (group) Austin, Texas curated by Leslie Moody Castro
2017 “El Johnny the Satellite” (solo) the Museum of Contemporary Art in Santa Barbara, California
2017 “An Adventure in the Sun” (group) Texas State University Gallery curated by Leslie Moody Castro in San Marcos, Texas
2014 “Te Quiero A lot Mamacitas” (solo) the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center curated by Patty Ortiz in San Antonio, Texas
2012 “Hecho Farm” (solo) University of Texas at Austin, Visual Arts Center curated by Kate Green in Austin, Texas
2011 “Honky Tonk” (group) Blue Coat Museum curated by Sara-Jayne Parsons in Liverpool, England
2008 “Phantom Sightings: Art after the Chicano Movement” (group) Los Angeles County Museum of Art, traveled to Museo del Barrio, Museo Rufino Tamayo, curated by Rita Gonzalez, Howard Fox, and Chon Noriega in Los Angeles, California
2005 “But still I’d leap in front of a flying bullet for you” (group) Artpace residency curated by Victor Zamudio-Taylor in San Antonio, Texas
2005 “Coyote girl steals the raspa” (group) Ev+a curated by Dan Cameron in Limerick, Ireland
2004 “Coyote girl steals the raspa” (group) San Juan Triennial curated by Harper Montgomery in San Juan, Puerto Rico
2004 “El corrido de el Super Taco gone bad” (group) The Louvre curated by Victor Zamudio-Taylor in Paris, France
2003 “Coyote girl steals the raspa” (solo)The Dallas Center for Contemporary Art curated by Joan Davidow in Dallas, Texas
2002 “Spaztek gets a job” (solo) Artpace curated by Katheryn Kanjo in San Antonio, Texas
2001 “2 tacos for 99 cents” (solo) San Antonio Museum of Art curated by George Neubert in San Antonio, Texas
2001 “Spaztek y La Love Mix” (group) ARCO in Madrid, Spain curated by Cuahtemoc Medina
2001 “Works by Cruz Ortiz” (solo) Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Antonio, Texas, curated by Kathy Vargas
Forthcoming Exhibitions
2024 Laredo Center for the Arts in Laredo, Texas (solo)
2024 Alanna Miller Gallery in New York City, New York (solo)
2024 Bill Arning Exhibitions in Kinderhook, New York (group)
Performances and Public Interventions
2022 “El Corrido de Los Angeles de Uvalde” art and sound intervention in Uvalde, Texas
2020 “la lucha lives” In Plain Sight art intervention, San Antonio, Texas
2020 “Abolish Ice - Art Action & Caravan” Karnes City Immigrant Detention Center
2019 EN VIVO PORTRAITS podcast
2017 “el johnny the satellite y el burro borracho” performance art project at the Santa Barbara Museum of Contemporary Art
2012 “hecho farm workshop” performance art project at the University of Texas at Austin
2008 “good morning heartache” performance art project at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
2006 “down by the river bombing raid” performance art project at Art Palace in Austin, Texas
2004 “te quiero mamacitas” art intervention in San Juan, Puerto Rico for the San Juan Triennial
1997 “yo soy spaztek” performance art project at the Pew Charitable Trust conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1995 “500 collinsionz” performance art project at Planeta Mixteca, San Antonio, Texas
Video projects
2021 “En Vivo Projections: La Lucha Lives MAP, Karnes Caravan, and Looking for Aztlan” video art projection
2010 “Freddy Hawk and the Mystery Lites Trailer” video art project
2005 “Soy Un Boring Lover” video art project
2004 “El Super Taco Gone Bad” video art project
2003 “Coyote Girl Steals the Raspa” video art project
2001 “Spaztek gets a job” video art project
2000 “Spaztek y La Love Mix” video art project
1998 “Spaztek y La Sad Girl” video art project
Public Art
2022 “Karankawa Sun Dream” public art project at Houston Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas
2019 “Sun Mountain” public art project in San Antonio, Texas
2018 “Dream Song Tower” public art project in San Antonio, Texas
2017 “Lighting Girl finds her way home” public art project for the Department of Housing and Urban development in Austin, Texas
Lectures
2020 “Mixto Party” SOMA in Mexico City
2019 “The Burro Brigade and other Political Art Interventions” Honor Fraser Gallery, Los Angeles
2017 “something about art and politics” Santa Barbara City College in Santa Barbara, CA
2017 “something about art and politics” University of California in Santa Barbara, CA
2001 “Machacado Mix” the San Antonio Museum of Art in San Antonio, TX
Residencies
2023 “Willow House Summer Residency” at Willow House in Terlingua, Texas
2020 National Parks Service, Artist-In-Residence
2019 Viente Viente, CDMX, Artist-In-Residence
2005 Artpace, International Artist-in-Residence
2005 Coronado Studios, Artist-in-Residence
Acquisitions
2019 Ruby City, “el jesse amado” oil painting on canvas tarp, 2017
2019 Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, “Tomás in an Aztlan Dream” oil painting on canvas tarp, 2018
2019 Arizona State University Museum of Art, “summer nite star dream” woodcut print wheat paste mural
2018 UTSA library special collections, donation of over 300 papers and political prints
2001 San Antonio Museum of Art , “Free Raspas” screenprint on paper, 2001
Honors
2021 Readying The Museum, cohort member, funded by the Ford and Mellon Foundation
2019 Texas Civil Rights Project Rising Star Award with Olivia Ortiz
2016 Official Latino Coalition Artist for the Hillary Clinton Presidential Campaign
2015 Blue Star Contemporary Honorary Artist
Memberships
2022 Los Tigres de San Antonio, mutualista baseball club, co-founder
2020 Oral History Association, member
2020 San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 2020 census committee member
2018 Rey Feo Scholarship Foundation, member
2018 Texas Medal Arts, selection committee member
2018 Artpace, board member
2018-present American Institute of Graphic Arts, member
2018 Southside San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, board member
2009 City of Austin Public Art, commission member
2008 City of San Antonio Historic Design and Review, committee member
1997 Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, board member
1996 National Association of Chicano and Chicana Studies, conference committee member
1994 !HARTA! Performance Art Group, member
Organizations
2018 Burro Brigade, volunteer voter ride project, founder
1993 San Anto Cultural Arts, community mural and newspaper project, co-founder
Catalog
Drutt, Matthew. 2005 Artpace Residencies and Exhibitions: Ricky Armendariz, Rae Culbert, Trisha Donnelly ... Artpace, 2008.
González Rita, et al. Phantom Sightings: Art after the Chicano Movement. University of California Press, 2008.
Kamps, Toby. “Perspectives 170: Cruz Ortiz.” Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, 26 Apr. 2018, camh.org/event/perspectives-170-cruz-ortiz/.
Ramírez Mari Carmen, et al. Trienal Poli/Gráfica De San Juan: América Latina y El Caribe. Instituto De Cultura Puertorriqueña, 2004.
Periodicals and Online Publications
Lopez, Julyssa. “Mexican Classics, Corridos, and a Plaza Filled With Mariachi: The Sounds of Solidarity in Uvalde.” Rolling Stone Magazine, June 27th, 2022. www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/mariachi-musicians-in-uvalde-1371739/
Ura, Alexa. “A corrido is written for the lost “Angels of Uvalde” as Latino artists begin crafting tributes.” Texas Tribune, June 3, 2022. www.texastribune.org/2022/06/03/uvalde-art-tributes/
Martinez, Mary Ann. “Mariachis pay emotional tribute to victims of Uvalde school shooting.” New York Post, June 2nd, 2022. nypost.com/2022/06/02/mariachis-pay-emotional-tribute-to-victims-of-uvalde-school-shooting/
Bowman, Wendy. “Wendy Bowman in the Studio with Cruz Ortiz.” Eleanor, 3 Sept. 2020, eleanora.co/in-the-studio-with-cruz-ortiz/.
Ford, Lauren Smith. “10 Texas Artists to Collect Now.” Texas Monthly, 7 Apr. 2017, www.texasmonthly.com/style/10-texas-artists-collect-now/.
Glasstire. “Cruz Ortiz’s ‘Dream Song Tower’ Comes to San Antonio.” Glasstire, 2 Dec. 2017, glasstire.com/2017/12/02/cruz-ortizs-dream-song-tower-comes-to-san-antonio/.
Green, Kate. “Cruz Ortiz: HECHO FARM - Visual Arts Center - The University of Texas at Austin.” Visual Arts Center - Department of Art and Art History - University of Texas at Austin, 2012, utvac.org/event/cruz-ortiz-hecho-farm.
Lomax, John Nova. “Why San Antonio Is the Best City in Texas for Artists.” Texas Monthly, May 2018, www.texasmonthly.com/style/ana-fernandez-and-cruz-ortiz-san-antonio-art/.
Martin, Deborah. “Cruz Ortiz Portrait of Tomás Ybarra-Frausto Added to the National Portrait Gallery.” Express News, 18 Feb. 2020, www.expressnews.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article/Cruz-Ortiz-portrait-of-Tom-s-Ybarra-Frausto-15064885.php.
Silva, Elda. “Works at CAMH by Artist Cruz Ortiz Go for the Heart.” Houston Chronicle, 15 June 2010, www.chron.com/entertainment/article/Works-at-CAMH-by-artist-Cruz-Ortiz-go-for-the-1719251.php.
Silva, Elda. SF Gate, 15 Oct. 2016, www.sfgate.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article/Clinton-campaign-taps-San-Antonio-artist-Cruz-9972132.php.