Image: Swiss Institute, New York
The residency will take place in New York from October through December 2026. During it, Ortiz will continue developing work for his forthcoming first solo exhibition in the United States.
Ortiz was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, grew up in San Lorenzo, and lives and works in San Juan. He received a BFA from the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico.
His practice spans drawing, painting, sculpture, and video, and is inspired by direct observation, photography, literature, cinema, and various museum collections. The residency is part of SI’s ongoing collaboration with art historian and arts patron Clarice O. Tavares. The program provides artists living and working in Latin America with an opportunity to live and work in New York City.
Among Ortiz’s recent works is 'últimos mensajes' (2025), a silent, looped video lasting 14 minutes and 53 seconds and based on Francisco Gonzalo 'Pachín' Marín’s poem 'Emilia' (1890). Other listed recent works include an untitled 2026 oil-and-latex painting, an untitled 2025 graphite wash on paper, and untitled fired-clay-and-graphite works from 2024–25 and 2025.
His recent solo exhibitions include 'Nada más que nada' at Souvenir 154 in San Juan in 2025 and 'Un más allá que está aquí' at Equis-Ente in San Juan in 2024.
