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 Vallarta Living | Art Talk | July 2005 
Elizabeth Ortega - The Newest Addition to the Puerto Vallarta Art World
 PVNN
| | Elizabeth Ortega believes in the concept of hands-on work, creating everything from sculpture to murals and relief works. You can see her artworks at Galeria Leonardo in Puerto Vallarta. |
Self-taught visual artist, Elizabeth Ortega was born and raised in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico on May 1st 1975. She had her first exhibit in 1992 where she presented her collection of decorated bottles, using the art of reclining to show relief work in wine bottles, which immediately caught the eye of the press.
Today, she continues exhibiting her artistic wine bottles at wine festivals and events throughout Baja California. Elizabeth is also an accomplished designer who has also been working in interior and exterior design since she was 17 years old. She started decorating bars using original art created specifically for each establishment.
Creating everything from sculpture to murals and relief works, this creative artist believes in the concept of hands-on work. She creates all the artwork herself, even the giant format. "I like to work with my hands, and if that means that I have to learn to mix cement, I mix cement!" she commented in an interview.
 Whether Miss Ortega paints while hanging on a scaffold, painting on canvas or modeling clay, she always work with a smile on her face. Her artwork is known to be pro-positive, with the strong social and political influences of the border and it's culture, and is a direct reflection of happiness in color and figurative design.
Some of her most recognized art works in the Mexican Art world, as well as in the movie industry, are her "Mojigangas". "I call them Mojigangas because it means to ridicule the human body. When I was investigating different terms of similar figures I found that they always led to social and/or political protest, in which I'm not interested."
"What interests me is to project happiness and have a direct communication with the spectator in a healthier sense. The fact that I am not interested in projecting my artwork towards protests doesn't mean that I don't see what's happening around me".
Coming from Tijuana, a border city mixed with the mosaic culture of North America, Elizabeth looked around for a long time for a city that combined the sensible and beautiful Mexican culture and the diversity of the international residents before choosing Puerto Vallarta.
 "It's hard for me to put my neighbors aside, that's why I love Puerto Vallarta, where people can enjoy each other's company without any pressures. People from all over the world come here and that's inspiring to any artist; let's not forget that Vallarta also has an incredible energy that inspires all senses," she says.
Elizabeth Ortega holds the title of "Visual Artist" with success. Experienced in a vast amount of materials and techniques - from acrylics and oils to sculpting in small and monumental formats, relief works and murals - she has had many individual exhibitions and has worked alongside other artists in collective exhibits.
Ortega's artwork is featured regularly during "International Day of the Woman" festivities and every year she participates in "Day of the Dead" art shows and events. "I am very happy to be a part of the art community in Puerto Vallarta, but for now I'm only working with painting," says Elizabeth.
Her most recent works are acrylic paintings which represent the labyrinth mind, interactive artwork as she calls them, that can be placed on any of their sides, and categorized as figurative abstracts. As always, Elizabeth works with proposals, artwork that is thought through before being created, combining the idea and concept with color and form.
 Elizabeth's work can bee seen at Galeria Leonardo. She says it is one of her favorite art galleries in Puerto Vallarta because "they work with Cuban artists and offer quality artwork from artists that find themselves in limiting situations where it's hard to show their art outside of their own country."
"When I first arrived in Puerto Vallarta, I found myself facing the reality that I was starting in a city where no one knew my work. Manuel, the owner of Leonardo Galerias was the first person to believe in me, and he was the first to support me. His comment was simply 'we have to support the young Mexican artists and every artist,' for all these reasons I am faithful to them and I am happy that they are representing my work."
She presently works as a manager at Galeria 8 y Mas, which represents a great selection of quality Mexican Art. "While working in Galeria 8 y Mas, I've learned much more from great artists. Their work is exquisite, they inspire me and encourage me to continue... for me its equally gratifying representing other artist's works as well as my own, and most of all because we have good Mexican artwork," she commented with a smile.
We hope to see more art by Elizabeth Ortega displayed here in Puerto Vallarta, as we are always looking for more participants in our cultural and artistic community. Feel free to contact Miss Ortega at elizabethh29@yahoo.es, or visit her website: www.elizabethortega.com. |
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