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Art by Genre	Artist List:  Select Artist BALCEREK, MARGO BASS, SHARON BELLINI, LUIGI BERNSTEIN, WILLIAM AND KATHERINE BRAITMAN, ANDY BURRIDGE, ROBERT CAMPBELL, RACHEL CARDENAS, JASON CARTER, EVA CHAPMAN, JIM CHASE, JEFF CHENET, GINNY CHIARIZIA, VICTOR COLWELL, SUSAN COSPER, CHER CRAM, JERRY CUNNINGHAM, ANNE DANIEL, ARLENE DEAN, LARRY DENNIS, WARREN DIGIULIO, JOSEPH DIGIULIO, SHARON DOBBS, MARK DUNN, MARIANNE EDWARDS, STERLING FAIRMAN, BRUCE FAUDREE, JANE FERRERI, JUSTINE FISCHER/WARNICA FORBES-DESOULE, STEVEN FOUST, CHARLOTTE FUSION Z GAITHER, J.L. GOLDSMITH, CAROLYN GRANT, VICKI GURGANUS, CRAIG HARRIS, SCOTT HECHT, SUSAN HIBBARD, BRIAN HIBBARD, KAYLI HILL, MARGARET HOOVER, DREW HOTCHKISS MOBILES HOWELL, PATSY HULET, DINAH & PATTY JASLOW, TED JOHNSON, BRUCE JOHNSON, MANDY KARG, ROLLIN KERR, JAMES KEYS, BEN KITRAS GLASS LEARY, DEAN LITTLE RIVER HOTGLASS LOGAN, CONNIE MADDEN, ELENA MARTIN, CATHERINE MARTIN, DEBBIE MASELLI, KIMBERLEE MATTHEWS, BUNNY MCCLURE, NANCY MCLEAN, HOLT MERTZ, DON MOORE, STEVE MORENO, HENRY MORRIS, SUZANNE MOSELEY, WILLIAM WARD MURPHY, DAN NELSON, SANDY NESBIT, ANGELA NEWELL, LENI ORTEGA, ALBERTO OWEN, VIRGINIA PANTAS, SUSANNA PASSAGE, JEFFREY PATMAN-CHANDLER, REBECCA PEARCE, BROOKS PILKINGTON, PAT PITTMAN, JEFF POPE, CAROL KING PRINGLE, ELIZABETH CATE ROONEY, MIKE SANTO TOMAS, HILDI SCARBOROUGH, CHIP SCOTT, KAREN SMIROLDO, MICHAEL SMITH, DANIEL SMITH, NELSON STRICKLAND, MERRILY SUGARFOOT JEWELS SUTTON, SALLY THOREN, ROBERT TUNKEL, RICK VAN HOUT, MICHAEL VINOSUS HANDMADE JEWELRY WADLEY, TY WALLACE, NANCY WATSON, NEIL WESTFALL, NANCY B. WIMER, ROD WINTERS, CONNIE WOLPER, MERYL WORM, KATE YOUNG, DARREN

ORTEGA, ALBERTO

When explaining my work, I often find myself returning to the question of whether painting can still be a worthwhile illustrative art.  Can painting continue to be considered a formula for imitating reality which, apart from creating illusions, contributes to our visual culture and serves as a fertile and original source of creation?   I hope to demonstrate that the medium of painting still holds a special value.  In my paintings, a relaxed, loose model of artistic behavior competes on equal footing with scrupulously executed technique.   Over the past five years, I have centered my paintings around urban views of the places I have visited, as well as parts of my native city, Seville.  When selecting a subject, I avoid the kind of picture-postcard images that are so familiar that their impact is diluted.  My intention is for the viewer to experience a certain intimate connectedness with each of my paintings, regardless of the location depicted.   My work is inspired by our contemporary, urban landscape and the man-made structures comprising our ‘natural’ surroundings.  I am merely an observer of this world.  My paintings are the result of a complete immersion in the role of witness to my immediate environment.  I feel compelled to render my knowledge of it on canvas.  By performing these acts of witnessing and capturing, I enable a particular scene to transcend the limits of a defined space and a single moment in time.   I believe that an everyday image from urban life—when represented in the ‘right’ way—should emotionally resonate with the viewer, who may even be startled by its aching beauty.  My goal is to create paintings that provoke this sort of reaction.  I ask the viewer to pause and contemplate how our humanized, man-made world is really the new ‘urban nature’ that we have created for ourselves.  I hope to provide an opportunity for the viewer to experience a feeling of connectedness with ordinary urban life, which is a construct of the human race and an extension of our natural selves into our surroundings.             Resume:   b. Seville, Spain, 1976.   B.A. + M.A. in Fine Arts with a concentration in Painting from the University of Seville, Spain.   Some Exhibitions and Grants:   2008    Antares Gallery-Club (Seville, Spain). “6 Visiones” Castillo de San Marcos. El Puerto de Santamaría (Cádiz, Spain). Exhibition Catalog.  2007   “6 Visiones” Castillo de San Marcos. El Puerto de Santamaría (Cádiz, Spain). Exhibition Catalog. National Prize in Painting. Alcalá de Guadaira Museum (Seville, Spain). Emerging Artist Grant from the Andalusian Government. Grant Catalog. Novo Art Gallery (Seville, Spain). “La postal del verano II” Signos del Mediodia Gallery (Seville, Spain). Taberna Anima Gallery (Seville, Spain).   2006    Félix Gómez Art Gallery (Seville, Spain). Exhibition Catalog with contributions from Manuel Arcenegui and Antonio Agudo. Association of Surveyers and Technical Arquitects Gallery. (Seville, Spain).   2005    “11x2” San Vicente Art Gallery (Seville, Spain). Sierra de Cazorla Painting Prize (Jaén, Spain).                                           National Prize: Pintura Jaurena Art (Barcelona, Spain). Talens Foundation Grant.   2004    Association of Surveyers and Technical Arquitects Gallery (Seville, Spain).