Ignacio Ortiz

IGNACIO ORTIZ CEDEÑO

Originally from La Piedad, Michoacán, he was born in 1934. He completed his first professional studies at the University of Nuevo León at the Plastic Arts Workshop, and continued his studies at the INBA School of Painting. "The Emerald".

He was from the generation of artists of the second half of the 20th century, a contemporary and friend of Francisco Corzas, Óscar Rodríguez, Pedro Freideberg, Francisco Icaza, Arnold Belkin, Jorge Alsaga, Roberto Donis, Mario Orozco Rivera and Rodolfo Nieto, almost all of them trained. In his first stage at the universities of Mexico, in 1954 he was recommended by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Pablo O'Higgins, who recognized his talent and dedication.

He completed a postgraduate study at the School of Plastic Arts in Prague (Czechoslovakia), exhibited at the “Umprum” gallery in Prague, in Bratislava (Slovakia), in Sofia (Bulgaria), at the “Le France” gallery (Paris, France ). ) among other.

Upon his return to Mexico, he reorganized the Plastic Arts workshop at the University of Nuevo León, was named its director, held various exhibitions throughout the country and was named director of the “El Caracol” Art Center.

In 1966 he moved to Xalapa (Veracruz) where he reorganized the Plastic Arts Workshop of the Universidad Veracruzana and was appointed director.

In 1968 he completed a doctorate in Art History in Uppsala (Sweden), and was named an honorary member of the Royal Union of Swedish Painters. Museums and galleries in Europe begin to exhibit his work, and in different media they refer to the subtle forms and abstraction that he uses through geometric figures, giving shape to faces, mostly female, and figures that flaunt his playful capacity, the poetic construction through his strokes and the contrast in the characteristic colors of his work, calling him in the printed media as “El Mexicano”.

Stockholm (Sweden), Liljevalch gallery (Uppsala) and the “Konsthall” gallery (Sweden) are settings where his work was exhibited.

In 1971 he was invited by the painter Pablo Picasso to collaborate in his workshop in Vallauris (France).

Upon his return to Mexico, he held a series of exhibitions that support more than sixty years of his career, he exhibited individually at Mary Moore Gallery (La Jolla, California), Museum of Contemporary Art (Morelia, Michoacán), Palacio de Bellas Artes (CDMX), Casa of Culture (Oaxaca, Mexico), Municipal Palace (Monterrey, NL.). and privately for a group of collectors from the Televisa company, he exhibits again in Sweden (Umprum gallery), in CDMX (Soutine gallery), “Enrique Jiménez” gallery (CDMX), Arte A. C. gallery in Monterrey, Centro Financiero Bancomer, Cervantino International Festival in Guanajuato, Salón de la Plástica Mexicana, Pinacoteca de Nuevo León, Secretariat of the Interior, Exhibition Hall of the CDMX International Airport, collective Pinacoteca NL Collection, Donceles 66 Cultural Center, Historical Center, CDMX Industrial Club, Casa de the Tlalpan Culture During his career he received various awards and recognitions, including: from the Salón de Noviembre en Arte A.C, “Miró" drawing award (Barcelona, Spain), from the Government of Nuevo León, Secretariat of Education and Culture for his collaboration in Nuevo Leon art, diploma from the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, in recognition of his arduous artistic career, recognition granted by the Metropolitan Museum of Monterrey and he was named a member of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana.

His work appears published in several magazines and books, the most recent publication is the book “Dialogue between poetry and painting” Pita Amor/Ignacio Ortiz, written in 2019 by his widow and representative Michelle Sandiel

IGNACIO ORTIZ CEDEÑO Originario de la Piedad, Michoacán nace en 1934, realizó sus primeros estudios profesionales en la Universidad de Nuevo León en el Taller de Artes Plásticas, continuó sus estudios en la escuela de Pintura del INBA. “La Esmeralda”.

Fue de la generación de artistas de la segunda mitad del siglo XX, contemporáneo y amigo de Francisco Corzas, Óscar Rodríguez, Pedro Freideberg, Francisco Icaza, Arnold Belkin, Jorge Alsaga, Roberto Donis, Mario Orozco Rivera y Rodolfo Nieto, formados casi todos ellos en su primera etapa en las universidades de México, en 1954 fue recomendado por Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros y Pablo O’Higgins, quienes le reconocieron su talento y dedicación.

Realizó un estudio de postgrado en la Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Praga (Checoslovaquia), expuso en la galería “Umprum” en Praga, en Bratislava (Eslovaquia), en Sofía (Bulgaria), en la galería “Le France” (París, Francia) entre otras.

A su regreso a México, reorganiza el taller de Artes Plásticas de la Universidad de Nuevo León, fue nombrado director del mismo, realizó diversas exposiciones a lo largo del país y nombrado director del Centro de Arte “El Caracol”.

En 1966 se trasladó a Xalapa (Veracruz) donde reorganizó el Taller de Artes Plásticas de la Universidad Veracruzana y fue nombrado director.

Realizó en 1968 un doctorado en Historia del Arte en Uppsala (Suecia), fue nombrado miembro honorario de la Unión Real de Pintores Suecos. Los museos y galerías en Europa comienzan a exhibir su obra, y en distintos medios de comunicación hacen referencia a las formas sutiles y la abstracción que emplea por medio de figuras geométricas, dando forma a rostros, en su mayoría femeninos y figuras que hacen alarde de su capacidad lúdica, la construcción poética por medio de sus trazos y el contraste en el colorido característico de su obra, llamándolo en los medios impresos como “El Mexicano”.

Estocolmo (Suecia), galería Liljevalch (Uppsala) y la galería “Konsthall” (Suecia) son escenarios donde se exhibió su obra.

En 1971 fue invitado por el pintor Pablo Picasso para colaborar en su taller en Vallauris (Francia).

A su regreso a México realizó una serie de exposiciones que avalan más de sesenta años de su trayectoria, expuso individualmente en Mary Moore Gallery (La Jolla, California) Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (Morelia, Michoacán) Palacio de Bellas Artes (CDMX), Casa de la Cultura (Oaxaca, México), Palacio Municipal (Monterrey, NL.). y de manera privada para un grupo de coleccionistas de la empresa Televisa, expone nuevamente en Suecia,(galería Umprum), en la CDMX (galería Soutine), galería “Enrique Jiménez” (CDMX), galería Arte A. C. en Monterrey, Centro Financiero Bancomer, Festival Internacional Cervantino en Guanajuato, Salón de la Plástica Mexicana, Pinacoteca de Nuevo León, Secretaría de Gobernación, Sala de Exhibiciones del Aeropuerto Internacional CDMX, colectiva Colección Pinacoteca NL, Centro Cultural Donceles 66, Centro Histórico, Club de Industriales CDMX, Casa de la Cultura Tlalpan

Durante su trayectoria recibió diversos premios y reconocimientos entre ellos: del Salón de Noviembre en Arte A.C, premio de dibujo “Miró" (Barcelona, España), del Gobierno de Nuevo León Secretaría de Educación y Cultura por su colaboración en la plástica nuevoleonesa, diploma de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, en reconocimiento por su ardua trayectoria artística, reconocimiento otorgado por el Museo Metropolitano de Monterrey y fue nombrado miembro del Salón de la Plástica Mexicana.

Su obra aparece publicada en varias revistas y libros, la publicación más reciente es el libro “Diálogo entre poesía y pintura” Pita Amor/Ignacio Ortiz, escrito en 2019 por su viuda y representante Michelle Sandiel.

Life
Ignacio Ortiz was born in La Piedad, Michoacán in 1934. He moved with his family to the city of Monterrey when he was twelve which is when he began to be interested in painting. When he was a teen a neighbor saw his small paintings and asked his father to allow him to enter classes at a local school. There he studied with a Spanish painter named Carmen Cortés and her husband. When he turned eighteen, he entered the fine arts program at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León where he studied with José Guadalupe Ramírez, Jorge Rangel and Spanish painter Juan Eugenio Mingorance as one of the first students at the university’s nascent art program.

On the recommendation of Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Pablo O'Higgins, he obtained a scholarship to study at the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" in Mexico City. These same painters help him and some other student start a small newspaper at the school. In 1957 he finished his studies in Mexico City and returned to Monterrey where he became a painting instructor at the fine arts program at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León.

In 1968 he received a scholarship to study his masters at the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague from 1958 to 1960. In 1962 he returned to Mexico.

In 1968, he received another scholarship, this time for his doctorate in art history at the Uppsala University in Sweden. He lived and exhibited in Europe for a time, meeting Pablo Picasso at an exhibition in Paris. The Spanish painter invited him to his workshop in Vallauris, France shortly before Ortiz returned again to Mexico in 1971.

Since then, Ortiz has lived and worked as an artist in Mexico, where his work mostly centers on women. His female friends have included Pita Amor, María Félix, Irma Serrano and Lola Beltrán. Amor dedicated some of her poems to his work.

He never plans to retire because he says that any day he does not paint feels like he died a little.

Career
During his career, he has exhibited his work individually and collectively in Mexico, the United States, Sweden, France, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Germany, Austria, Belgium and Spain. His first exhibition was at the main hall of the Colegio Civil when he was a student, displayed alongside those of Gerardo Cantú and Marcos Cuellar.

Individual exhibitions include the Umprum Gallery in Prague (1959), Galería El Caracol in Mexico City (1964), Galería Forma in Monterrey (1965), Upplans Gallery in Uppsala, Sweden (1969), a retrospective at the Konsthalien in Stockholm (1970), the Palacio de Gobierno in Monterrey (1971), Galería Gandhi in Mexico City (1973), Palacio de Bellas Artes (1976), Casa de Cultura in Oaxaca (1976), Oficina de Gobierno of Nuevo León (1979), Palacio Municipal of Monterrey  (1980), Casa de Cultura in Monterrey (1983), Galería Soutine (1990), retrospective at the Galería Arte AC (1994), the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana (1999, 2003), the Museo of Monterrey (2000), Salón Niza in Mexico City (2004, 2005, 2008), the Museo Metropolitano of Monterrey (2005), Pinacotheca of Nuevo León (2009) and the Exhibition Center of the Mexico City International Airport (2011).

He has participated in collective exhibitions in Bratislava (1960), Mary Moore Gallery in La Joya, California (1974), Galería Artes y Libros in Monterrey and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo in Morelia (1976), several collective exhibitions in Sweden in 1987, Galería Soutine in Mexico City (1988), Galería Enrique Jiménez (1992), Galería Gilberto Mata (1993), Palacio de Bellas Artes (1994), Cruz Roja in Monterrey (1995), Museo Monterrey (1997), Salón de la Plástica Mexicana (1997, 1998, 2003), Centro Financiero Bancomer in Mexico City (2000), Museo Metropolitano of Monterrey (2005), Festival Internacional Cervantino (2007) and the Secretaría de Gobernación (2009).

Another important aspect of his career has been in the teaching of art. After he finished his studies in Mexico City in 1957, he returned to Monterrey, where he became a painting instructor at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León. After spending time in Europe, he returned to the same institution in 1962 as its director, restructuring the program. He has been an important part of the development of the fine arts program of the Universidad de Nuevo León, which is now the most important institution of its kind in the northeast of Mexico. In 1966 he also restructured the fine arts program at the Universidad Veracruzana as its director. In 1977, he began as instructor at the Escuela de Pintura y Escultura La Esmeralda.

Recognition for his work includes first place at the Salón de Noviembre de Arte in 1962, membership in the Royal Union of Swedish Painters since 1969 and an award at a drawing competition in Barcelona, Spain. He is also a member of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana and in 2005, the Museo Metropolitano of Monterrey gave him an award for his life’s work and contributions to the culture of Monterrey in 2005.

Artistry
Ortiz is of the generation of Mexican painters of the second half of the 20th century, contemporary with Oscar Rodríguez Naranjo, Juan Manuel de la Rosa, Arnold Belkin, José Luis Serrano and Francisco Icaza. Much of his work focuses on depictions of women, with entire series dedicated to them such as “Las Divas” (The Divas). He believer that women are central to art, literature and music and says he admires women, especially those of his family along with his women friends and his wife. He says that they are his muses which give him inspiration. His work of the latter 2000s has focused on depiction of women with clear allusion to the Cubism of Picasso, with women on geometric background and women figures in geometric style, both done in strong colors.