The newest exhibition at The Art Base in Basalt, “Imagenes de Nepantla,” debuted on Feb. 7. This showcase, created in collaboration with multi-medium, Denver-based artist Tony Ortega, explores the Nahuatl word and concept of “nepantla.” The word describes a state of “in-betweenness” which holds great significance in Chicano and Mexican art and reflects the cultural hybridity of people from these communities navigating identities. The exhibition will run until March 14.
Ortega found himself in this collaboration with The Art Base after his friend, Gayle Embrey, a filmmaker local to Carbondale, worked with him on a Carbondale Arts exhibition, “Identidad y Libertad,” back in 2021. They, alongside Claudia Bernardi, Fanel Reyes, and José Lopez, explored themes and issues around identity and freedom for Latinx people.
“She told me about The Art Base and I went to go visit the space and saw one of the exhibitions, and I thought to myself how interested I’d be in showing my work there,” Ortega told The Sopris Sun.
There will be a bilingual walkthrough of the showcase with Ortega on Feb. 14 from 5 to 7pm. The following day, there will be Café con Leche, a casual conversation event with Ortega, from 11am to 1pm. He said he looks forward to audiences not only seeing the work but also taking away a new perspective.
“I hope they’ll walk away with a better understanding of my culture and perspective of that space in-between,” Ortega stated. “Hopefully, they’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of their fellow Hispanos in the Valley. When I have done exhibits such as this, I’ve seen comment books from local Latinos who would comment on the work and how they see themselves, their culture and their families in it. I hope they see themselves and that people unfamiliar with the space in-between get a better feel. I think that’s very universal,” Ortega stated.
In addition to being an artist for over 40 years, Ortega holds an MFA in drawing and painting from the University of Colorado and is a professor of fine and performing arts at Regis University. He devised “Imagenes de Nepantla” while on a sabbatical, drawing inspiration from his experiences of existing in different cultures, specifically between city life in Denver and his parents’ agrarian hometowns in New Mexico.
“I was mostly raised by my grandmother, and I would go back and forth between Denver and Pecos and Colonias, New Mexico,” Ortega shared. “I would spend my summers there, and it was very agrarian. Spanish was spoken a lot and the food we ate was very Mexican with American influence.”
He continued, “Going back and forth physically between Colorado and New Mexico informed me of being in that space in-between, and it informed the art I create surrounding identity and culture.”
One piece from this exhibition Ortega is particularly proud to display is a woodblock print on Mexican bark paper titled “Bonampak Cholo,” depicting a cholo, or a hip youth, with a priest against Mayan hieroglyphics, blending ancient cultural influences with an idea of modern Hispanic culture.
“To me, this piece represents nepantla by showing the in-between of being American and Mexican of Indigenous descent. The piece overlaps history by blending pre-colonial elements with the contemporary. I’m especially proud of this one, and it’ll be the first piece you see as you walk into the gallery,” Ortega said.
Additionally, Ortega will host a children’s art workshop on March 15-16. During the workshop, participants will make alebrijes, a Mexican folk art craft where artists sculpt brightly-colored creatures. Using recycled materials, Ortega will create a paper mache version of these alebrijes.
“They’ll build an armature with recycled materials and paper mache, then paint and embellish them with patterns. The kids will walk away not only learning the process of making art but also walking away with this thing they’ve created. I look forward to that,” Ortega stated.
Gallery hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 5pm. For more information, visit www.theartbase.org or call (970)-927-4123.