VICENTE ORTIZ CORTEZ (b. 1992, Guanajuato, Mexico) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores themes of identity and social justice. He invented a new art medium, Arroz con Popote, and has exhibited his work internationally, including exhibitions at The Beach Museum (solo) in Alagoas, Brazil, the National Liberty Museum and City Hall in Philadelphia, PA, the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, NE, and the Czong Institute for Contemporary Art in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. He is a recipient of several grants and awards, including a grant from the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, and the Michelle Angela Ortiz Curatorial Fellowship. From 2021 to 2022, Vicente was a Social Justice and Activism Artist-in-Residence at Silver Art Projects in the World Trade Center, New York City. His work can be found in the collections of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in New York City, The Beach Museum in Alagoas, Brazil, the William Way LGBT Community Center in Philadelphia, PA, and El Minia University in Minya, Egypt. His work has been juried by curators from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), and has appeared on Visit Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Broad Street Review. Vicente received a BFA from The Pennsylvania State University, and also attended Studio Arts College International (SACI) in Florence, Italy. He currently serves as a Board Director on the Penn State School of Visual Arts Alumni Board.
Photo by Richard Kagan
CV
VICENTE ORTIZ CORTEZ
1992 Born in Guanajuato, Mexico. Lives and works in the US.
EDUCATION
2014 Bachelor of Fine Arts, The Pennsylvania State University, PA
2013 Studio Arts College International (SACI), Florence, Italy
AWARDS, RESIDENCIES
2021-2022 Social Justice and Activism Artist-in-Residence, Silver Art Projects, World Trade Center, New York, NY
2021 Actos de Confianza Grant, National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, USA
2020 Best Dance Film (for EEUU, 2019), 1st Annual Bump’n’Grind Film and Performance Fest, Toronto, Canada
2020 Michelle Angela Ortiz Curatorial Fellowship, Philadelphia, PA
2019 14th Annual Juried Art Exhibition Award (for EEUU, 2019), Juror: James Claiborne, William Way LGBT Community Center, Philadelphia, PA
2019 Highly Commended Award, Red Line Art Works, Bath, United Kingdom
2014 Stefan J. S. Levine Endowment Award, The Pennsylvania State University, PA
2014 Margaret Giffen Schoenfelder Memorial Scholarship Award for Painting, The Pennsylvania State University, PA
2012 William J. and Lois Kesterson Leight Scholarship Award for Demonstrated Artistic Ability, The Pennsylvania State University, PA
2011 Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity Scholarship Award, The Pennsylvania State University, PA
COLLECTIONS
American Civil Liberties Union, New York, New York
William Way LGBT Community Center, Philadelphia, PA
Museu da Praia (The Beach Museum), Alagoas, Brazil
El Minia University, Minya, Egypt
SOLO & TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS (Selected)
2022 All-American, with Klaire Lockheart, Metropolitan Community College, Omaha, NE
2020 Paz Futura (2084), Museu da Praia, Alagoas, Brazil (collection)
2014 vih-SEN-tay, Patterson Gallery, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
CENSORSHIPS
(Works accepted, then removed from show)
2022 Borders/Portals, Artists of Color Collective, The Arts League (formerly University City Arts League), Philadelphia, PA
2014 Courage to Create, New Leaf Initiative (defunct), State College, PA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024, Gifts of Madness, Penticton Art Gallery, British Columbia, Canada, Mar 23 – Saturday May 11 (Work: Bolivia, 2022)
2024, WayGay on Display: Staff Picks and New Acquisitions from the Permanent Art Collection, William Way LGBT Community Center, Philadelphia, PA, Feb 28 - Apr 25
2024, Community Artist Showcase, Artists Village Gallery, NFT.NYC, North Javits, Hudson Yards, New York City, NY, Apr 3-5
2023 - 2024 Beyond the Binary: A Celebration of Gender Identity, City Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Nov 1 - Jan 12
2023 Benefit Art Auction Exhibition, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE
2023 Sugar Rush, Not Real Art, Los Angeles, CA (Curated by Morgan Laurens) (virtual)
2022 Avant-Garde, The Women’s Caucus for Art - Philadelphia, Henry Gallery, The Pennsylvania State University - Great Valley, Malvern, PA (juried) (virtual)
2021 Among Us: Four Decades of Art and AIDS in Philadelphia, William Way LGBT Community Center Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (virtual)
2021 Togetherness & Oneness, Williamsburg Art & Historical (WAH) Center, Brooklyn, NY (Juror: Paulina Pobocha, Curator at the Museum of Modern Art)
2021 What Are You Looking Forward to in 2021?, An Artist a Day, anartistaday.org
2021 When the World Stopped: Queer Life 2020-2021, William Way LGBT Community Center Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (virtual)
2020 Tenses: Queer Bodies Through Time, William Way LGBT Community Center Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (virtual)
2020-2021 Philly's Freedom: Artists Speak Out, National Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA (October 16, 2020 - April 25, 2021)
2020 Noche de Película, Film Festival, PDX Latinx Pride, Portland, OR (virtual)
2020 1st Annual Bump’N’Grind Film and Performance Fest, Toronto, Canada (Nominations: Best Dance Film, Best Performance Film) (award) (virtual)
2020 Roxie Roz Burlesque, Atlanta, GA (virtual)
2020 Artists for Black Lives Matter: The Pandemic Alliance Edition, Virtual, Artists for Black Lives Matter, 1310 Gallery, Fort Lauderdale, FL
2020 The Phenomena of Natural Phenomena, New Society Art, Stem Advocacy Institute (SAi), Boston, MA (Curated by JennyMae Kho) (virtual)
2020 Eros and Thanatos, Beam Collective, Tel Aviv, (Curated by Igor Zeiger, Maria Rosenblatt, and Erika Tal-Shir) (virtual)
2020 Unrealisierte Projekte, feldfünf, Berlin, Germany
2020 In 24-Hours: Desirable Feelings, The Wall Space Gallery, Scotland, UK (Curated by Ayshia Taskin and [SHIFT:ibpcpa]) (virtual)
2020 What Now?, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, CT (virtual)
2019 Student and Faculty Exhibition, University City Arts League, Philadelphia, PA
2019 14th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, William Way LGBT Community Center Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (Juror: James Claiborne, independent curator and Public Programming Manager, African American Museum, Philadelphia)
2019 215 | 610 CONTEMPORARY: Juried Exhibition of Regional Emerging Artists, Art Gallery, Delaware County Community College, Media, PA (Juror: Jodi Throckmorton, Curator of Contemporary Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Museum)
2019 Stonewall @ 50, Leonard Pearlstein Gallery, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA (invitational) (Co-Curators: David Acosta & Janus Ourma)
2019 Expanding the Queer Perspective, The Common Room & Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania, The Common Room, Philadelphia, PA
2019 Small Favors: Juried, Korman Gallery, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA (invitational, by Jennifer Zwilling)
2019 Postcards from the Edge, Visual AIDS, Bortolami Gallery, New York, NY
2019 Objectified 2019, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art (CICA) Museum, Gyeonggi, South Korea (catalog)
2019 Group Exhibition, Red Line Art Works, Bath, United Kingdom (award) (virtual)
2018 Student and Faculty Exhibition, University City Arts League, Philadelphia, PA
2018 Know Now, Bahdeebahdu, Philadelphia, PA (invitational, by RJ Thornburg)
2017 Single Fare 4, New York Academy of Art, Highline Stages, New York, NY
2017 Priority Mail, Ground Floor Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2017 Not My President Still My Country, Philadelphia Creatives for Change, A Poet Art Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2017 Cold Pizza, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA (invitational, by D'Nae Harrison)
2015 Penis Monologues, No Refund Theater, University Park, PA
2015 4th Student International Print Show, El Minia University, Extra Art Gallery, Cairo, Egypt (juried)(catalog)
2015 4th Student International Print Show, El Minia University, Gallery of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Minya, Egypt (juried) (catalog) (collection)
2014 X=HP^O, Patterson Gallery, University Park, PA
2014 BFA Studio Tour Arts Crawl, School of Visual Arts, University Park, PA
2014 Undergraduate Juried Exhibition, Edwin W. Zoller Gallery, University Park, PA (award) (Juror: Barry Schwabsky, Art Critic, The Nation, New York, NY)
2014 BFA Exhibition, Edwin W. Zoller Gallery, University Park, PA
2014 The Right to Remain Violent: Gun Control for a New Civilization, The Penn State Downtown Theatre Centre Gallery, State College, PA
2013 Undergraduate Juried Show, Edwin W. Zoller Gallery, University Park, PA (Juror: Tim Roda, Artist, New York, NY)
2013 Petriz, Patterson Gallery, University Park, PA (two-person exhibition, with artist Jeremy Petrachonis)
2013 BFA Exhibition, Edwin W. Zoller Gallery, University Park, PA
2013 2D + 3D, Palazzo dei Cartelloni, Florence, Italy
2013 SACI Design Exhibition, Palazzo Maidoff, Florence, Italy
2012 BFA Exhibition, Edwin W. Zoller Gallery, University Park, PA
2012 Beyond the Classroom Walls, Borough Building, State College, PA
2011 BFA Exhibition, Edwin W. Zoller Gallery, University Park, PA
2010 Emerging Artists II, Starbucks, Kennett Square, PA
2010 Chester County Art Association (CCAA) Art Festival, CCAA, West Chester, PA (award)
2009 Emerging Artists, Starbucks, Kennett Square, PA
2009 Kennett Artists, The Flash, Kennett Square, PA
2009 CCAA Art Festival, CCAA, West Chester, PA
CURATORIAL WORK
2022 Co-Curator, Joyous Disruption, Philadelphia, PA
2022 Juror, 22nd Annual Student Art Exhibition, Metropolitan Community College, Omaha, NE
2020 Curator, Respect for the Rights of Others is Peace: Building on Hope, Unity, Sacrifice, Philadelphia, PA
2020 Juror, Colors of Hope, Philadelphia, PA (Broad Street Review)
2019 Curator, Chanthaphone Rajavong: FUTURE/SUSTAINABLE, University City Arts League, Philadelphia, PA
2019 Curator, Laura Mecklenburger: Spell Craft, University City Arts League, Philadelphia, PA
2018 Co-Curator, Formerly Philly, University City Arts League, Philadelphia, PA
BIBLIOGRAPHY (Selected)
2022 Entrevista con Vicente Ortiz desde NYC, Crypto Creativos Radio
2022 The Inherent Art of NFTs, Sandra Lopez, El Deadline, Medium
2022 Issue Four: Duality, Humankind Zine
2021 Cover Image, Assemblages of Violence in Education: Everyday Trajectories of Oppression, by Boni Wozolek, Routledge, New York, NY, USA (2021 Critics Choice Book Award, American Educational Studies Association)
2020 Arte visual latino, by Leticia Roa Nixon, Impacto
2020 ‘Colors of Hope’ in its new virtual gallery space, by Pamela J. Forsythe, Broad Street Review
2020 Gallery X, by Brandon T. Harden, Culture from Your Couch, Spike Lee’s Vietnam movie, Disney’s ‘Artemis Fowl,’ plus concerts, must-see TV, and more to keep you entertained this weekend, The Philadelphia Inquirer
2020 Subliminar, January 08, Tribuna Independente, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil