Prophecy Here and Gone
Mindy Solomon is pleased to present the Miami solo exhibition debut of New York based Mexican-American painter Anna Ortiz.
Within Prophecy Here and Gone, richly saturated surrealist landscapes reference Aztec and Mayan mythology. Glowing with a preternatural warmth, each image conveys a sense of the other-worldly. Inspired by Mesoamerican mythology and the landscape of Mexico, Ortiz’s work serves as a reflection of her Mexican-American identity.
As the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, she grew up with one foot in the U.S. and the other in Mexico. Her childhood was spent traveling to Mexico each summer to study art with her grandfather, a professional portrait painter, and her aunt, a professional sculptor. Her family recognized and encouraged her artistic inclinations since her early childhood. The Mexican part of her identity is deeply intertwined with the family legacy of making art. Ortiz describes a few highlights from the exhibition:
Agaves Bailando
“In Agaves Bailando two blooming agaves take center stage in the close foreground. When an agave blooms, it is referred to as the century plant. Long stalks shoot out of the previously grounded succulent, reaching towards the sky in a last dash to reseed. The flowers that grow atop the long stalks are an indication that the plant will soon die. Life and death commingle on center stage at this pivotal moment.
Behind the dancing flowers, the moon lights up the sky and also reflects in the lake below. The moon is an important character in many ancient Mexican myths. Within the painting it exists in two ways; one physical and one only perceptual.
Al Otro Lado de Texcoco
“Prior to settling around lake Texcoco, the Aztecs had been living in a place called Aztlán (somewhere in south western USA.) While there, they received a prophecy from their hummingbird god of war Huitzilopochtli. He told them their destiny was to leave Aztlán in search of their future capitol. They would know they had found it when they came upon an eagle perched upon a cactus with a snake in its mouth. After 200 years of searching, they walked into the valley of Mexico. At the base of the valley was Lake Texcoco where they saw an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its mouth. The Aztecs had found their home, the same site the Spaniards would eventually invade, drain, and name Mexico City.
In the background of this painting the mountain La Malinche dominates the horizon. The mountain is named after Cortes’ concubine and translator Malintzín. She is considered the mother of the first mestizo and a traitor to the indigenous people of Mexico. Her story is captivating, and she was pivotal to the founding of Spanish Mexico.
Gemelos y Amaranto
“The painting Gemelos y Amaranto (Twins and Amaranth) is very symbolic. The amaranth plant was a staple for the Aztec’s main diet along with corn, beans, and squash. It was also used in rituals including human sacrifice. When the Spanish arrived in the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, they were intent on imposing Catholicism on the indigenous population. Horrified by Aztec rituals, they outlawed all amaranth, for both consumption and religious purposes. The fields of amaranth were burned in an attempt to erase the memory of its ritualistic
relevance.
However, because of its cultural significance, Aztecs continued to cultivate amaranth in secret. The amaranth plant was grown in defiance for many generations, surviving the Spaniard’s banishment.”
Imbued with narrative content, each painting is a portal into a world of the unknown. Inside each radiant image, one can imagine the feeling of being alone in the universe in a place that was once inhabited by a thriving, lost civilization. Connecting to her ancestry through painting, we can all imagine a place where prophecies linger—waiting to be fulfilled.
About Anna Ortiz
Anna Ortiz is a Mexican-American painter living in Brooklyn. Growing up in Worcester, Massachusetts, Ortiz spent much of her childhood visiting her family in Guadalajara, Mexico. There she studied art with her grandfather Alfonso who was a professional portrait painter as well as with her aunt Lolita, a professional sculptor.
Ortiz’s surrealist landscapes reference the cultural divide she and so many second generation Americans feel. Their narrative nature references ancient Aztec and Mayan mythology while reflecting back on current and personal events. Out of the ruins of their previous existence, these new creatures inhabit a borderland between memory and imagination. Dualities define them; they give them shape. Weaving together invented spaces with references to actual places, the paintings take both a familiar tone and a sense of the uncanny.
Ortiz is a recipient of the 2024 NYFA Artist Fellowship. Ortiz has had solo exhibitions with Mindy Solomon Gallery, Deanna Evans Projects and Dinner Gallery. She has shown her work with 1969 Gallery, Johansson Projects and Monya Rowe. She has also exhibited internationally, at the CAN art fair in Ibiza, in Mexico City with MAIA and in London with Soho Revue. Her work has been featured in Art Forum, Maake Magazine and Colossal. She has been the recipient of various residencies including CAA in Mallorca, The Golden Foundation and the Vermont Studio Center. She has a forthcoming residency at Yaddo summer 2025.
