Bernardo Ortiz
At the core of Bernardo Ortiz´s artistic practice blending drawing, writing and design, lies the comprehensive notion of “page”. According to Ortiz, “a page is a material support but also a discursive space, and the boundaries between the two are tenuous. Its surface can be opaque or transparent, it has two sides and can be real or fictional.” As a general rule, Ortiz intervenes the support in subtle ways: with sharp light lines made by hard-leaded pencils; with thin coats of gouache, oil paint, and enamel; or using words and phrases often extracted from specific poems, lyrics, or literary works. All in all, his works are literary drawings insinuate the passage of time while posing questions about this complex territory known as the ‘surface’ or the ‘page’.
““—I make a drawing everyday.” All my work comes from that statement. Almost always, that drawing is a repetition of another drawing I made before. From time to time I find a new type drawing to add to the established repertoire. Sometimes, I stop repeating a drawing or more for a long season. It’s a slow and ongoing process.”
Bernardo Ortiz