The work of Luis Felipe Ortega engages contemporary thought by seizing words, phrases and ideas of writers and filmmakers, philosophers, anthropologist, music and artists so as to weave a hybrid map of relations. Through this map, through this primary material, Ortega generates actions, situations, videos, drawings, sculptures and installations. By placing in tension the framework or limits of the pieces with the body of the spectator, his work always frames the specific political dimensions of art. The horizon, the emptiness and the constant silence are locations of arrival and new departures in his production.
To produce ideas (tools) through which we engage with other ideas is one of Ortega’s primary obsessions; his production can thus be understood as a ludic field through which to construct these tools.
Luis Felipe Ortega (Mexico City, 1966) completed his undergraduate degree in the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). Since the 1990s, he has published extensively and edited several magazines. In 2002, he held an artistic residency in the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York City. He has received numerous recognitions, including the Sistema Nacional de Creadores (2006, 2009, 2015, 2020) and FONCA, Jóvenes Creadores (1998).
His work has also been a part of biennials such as: Bienal de Coimbra, Portugal(2019); La Biennale di Venezia, Mexican’s National Pavillon, Venece (2015); Pague Biennale, Czech Republic (2009); Tirana Biennale, Albania (2001) and Gwangju Biennale, South Korea (2000).
His most important solo exhibitions include: ...y luego se tornará resquicio, Museo Amparo, Puebla (2022); A Horizon Falls, A Shadow, Mattatoio-MACRO, Rome (2018); A propósito del borde de las cosas, Museo Experimental El Eco, Mexico (2017); Así es, ahora es ahora, Laboratorio Arte Alameda, Mexico (2010); Horizonte Invertido, El Clauselito, Museo de la Ciudad de México, Mexico (2010); Before the Horizon, Maison d’Art Actuel des Chartreux, Belgium (2006); Ocupación, Sala de Arte Público Siqueiros, Mexico (2004), Km 96, Kurimanzutto, México (2002); Yo, Nosotros, Centro de la Imagen, Mexico (2000) and Campo de acción, Art&Idea, Mexico (1997).
Additionally, his work has been included in various group exhibitions: Between Words and Silence. The Work of Translation, Armory Center for de Arts, Pasadena (2017); Punk, sus Rastros en el Arte Contemporáneo, MACBA/Barcelona, Museo Universitario del Chopo/Mexico (2016); Strange Currencies. Art and Action in Mexico City 1990-2000, The Galleries at Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia (2016); Moving Time: Video Art at 50, 1965-2015, Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, Michigan (2016); Antes de la Resaca. Una Fracción de los Noventa en la Colección del MUAC, Mexico (2011); La Era de la Discrepancia, MUAC, Mexico, MALBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina/Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil (2008); Esquiador en el Fondo del Pozo, Jumex, Mexico; After the Act, MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst, Austria (2005); Cover Theory. L'arte Contemporanea Come Re-interpretazione, Officina della Luce, Italy (2003); Elephant Juice (Sexo entre amigos), Kurimanzutto, Mexico (2003); Ummaguma: Especies de Indeterminación, Mexico, (1995); Jorge Kunst Uit Mexico, Belgium (1994) y Temístocles 44-I (Decoraciones para el hogar), Mexico (1993).