The San Antonio studio of contemporary artist Cruz Ortiz. ©cruzortiz2022

Cruz Ortiz is a prolific, international contemporary artist born in Houston and currently based in San Antonio, Texas. He works in multiple mediums—painting, printmaking, hand-carved wood sculptures, large-scale public art installations, video, audio and performance art. We’re enthralled with his paintings, particularly his self-portraits that feature multiple eyes. That depiction resonated personally with us (for reasons we won’t go into here).

Mary discovered his dynamic work during the pandemic. She also found out that he and his wife Olivia Flores Ortiz have a design studio, Burnt Nopal, that brings his “Nuevo Texas” aesthetic to design, branding and experiences for select clients such as Absolut Vodka, Lone Star beer, the Ojai Institute, progressive politicians and non-profits. Many of their designs incorporate Cruz's bold screen prints and letterpress work.

We decided we must meet him because we love his abstract portraits. They’re exciting, intriguing, bright and fresh. They incorporate aspects of his ancestral heritage and document himself, his family, friends and activists. It was particularly meaningful to Claudine to see a Latino artist based in San Antonio—where she spent half of her childhood—doing groundbreaking work and recognized on an international stage.

As soon as we saw their Burnt Nopal design work, we knew that we wanted to collaborate with them on a project. At the end of February, on an unusually cold, overcast Texas day, we made our pilgrimage from Austin to his studio in an old spanish colonial historic district on the southside of San Antonio. We brought along our nephew Kyle as a part of his 22nd birthday celebration. It’s important to Claudine to expose her nephews and other young people to interesting and unconventional careers to help broaden their sense of possibilities.

We were greeted by Cruz’s son Joaquin Ortiz who seemed to be around Kyle’s age. He was working on some letterpress in the studio and started showing us around. We absolutely love that Cruz’s enterprise is a family affair like ours. Shortly after, Cruz arrived to greet us. We were struck by how warm and open he is and we greatly appreciated how generous he and Joaquin were with their time. Cruz showed us his painting studio and explained his process. He told us how, when he’s not painting a subject in the studio, he works from photos that he photocopies in black and white, so only the most important details are highlighted. He showed us a dark, reflective glass that he uses for self-portraits, also as a way to focus his eye and eliminate the distractions a regular mirror might show.

We toured their Burnt Nopal studio that contained a vintage press and museum-worthy, antique plates. They also showed us large scale canvases and told us about some of the amazing people who sat for him. We just about felt like fainting goats that keel over when overwhelmed with excitement. Art, letterpress, screen printing, history, inspiring stories, kind and generous people—it was such a remarkable and special encounter that we won’t forget.

A Cruz Ortiz self portrait. ©cruzortiz2022

Cruz’s patient, yet passionate elucidation about his process, inspiration and subject matter hints at his past as a teacher. We soaked in all of it, completely inspired by the depth and breadth of influences, technique and ideas that go into his work.

Another aspect of Cruz Ortiz that we admire is his dedication to social justice and political activism. From portraits of activists to promoting progressive causes and the non-profit organizations he and his wife Olivia support, Cruz has a genuine empathy for people in need and a sincere dedication to making positive change.

Cruz and Olivia started a podcast called En Vivo Portraits that combines oral history documentation and live portrait painting sessions. The raw podcast allows the listener to be a fly on the wall in that intimate space between the sitter and the artist. It’s just another way that this firebrand artist, along with his creative partner spouse, is breaking ground and telling stories, particularly Latino/a/x stories, that need to be told.

Love, Fred

A rising Texas star — Cruz Ortiz