white `ranquel Collage by Gustavo Ortiz

Collage: Paper, Wax on Canvas.

collage on stretched canvas, ready to hang
Influenced by colonial art as well as native indigenous artistic practices, my paintings are distinctly Latin American in their hybrid blending of both a European and a South American heritage. Using collage as my primary medium, I combine the whimsical elements of Naive art with the unexpected juxtapositions of Surrealism, creating an atmosphere of surprise, charm, and simplicity. Populated by disproportionate human figures, animals, and objects that tightly occupy reduced landscapes, my paintings draw on the native myths and legends of Latin America, and the decorative quality and tactile texture of the compositions resonate with traces of indigenous art and craft. The strong use of color and the patterns of clearly defined shapes afforded by the medium of collage give an air of childlike naivety and understated humor to my paintings which, created in series, offer narratives of the wonder and enchantment of human experience