BIO
If you’ve ever seen a sunflower that’s seemed to mutate and stretch in all directions (gardeners call it fasciation), you’ll recognise that odd, abstract beauty in nature that shines in Raúl Ortiz’s paintings. Raúl’s paintings strip away sections to reveal even more colorfully patterned silhouettes. Though his earlier works took the shape of natural subjects like flowers, more indistinct shapes take center stage, playing with repetition as well as vivid color.
Ortiz was born in Ocampo, GTO, Mexico and immigrated to the United States with his family when he was 5. He received his BFA in Painting, Sculpture and Printmaking from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2001. He has exhibited in venues such as the University Club of Chicago, the Evanston Art Center, National Museum of Mexican Art, the Old Town Art Center, the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, the Rockford Art Museum, the Wright Museum of Art, Beloit, Wisconsin. Recently, he was selected to take part in group shows in New York City and Tyler, Texas. His art is included in many private and public collections throughout the United States, including Chicago. He has also been an artist-in- residence at The Cliff Dwellers, Chicago in 2005. Ortiz currently lives & works in Chicago, IL.
