Virgil Ortiz: La Renaissance Indigène

May 6, 2006–September 24, 2006

New York, NY

Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo, b. 1969) is an artist whose work defies easy definition. He is a ceramicist, sculptor, jeweler, painter, fashion designer, trendsetter, and provocateur. Situated between the traditions of his Native community and the expansive frontier of the international art world, Ortiz's work is personal, electric, and audacious.

Ortiz, who began making pottery with his family at the age of six, has adapted the artistic techniques and principles of Cochiti traditions to his innovative multimedia works. By adding provocative details to his figures, Ortiz continues Cochiti's use of figurative pottery as social critique. The artist's signature calligraphic style, use of diverse textures and media, and uninhibited approach to contemporary subjects are magnified in this new body of work, including ceramics and his first couture fashion collection.

Virgil Ortiz: La Renaissance Indigène was organized by the Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, and curated by Joe Baker (Delaware Tribe of Indians), Lloyd Kiva New Curator of Fine Art.