Cristóbal Ortega

Cristobal Ortega - Sweating Fray Angelico

Artist Biography: Cristóbal Ortega is a contemporary artist born in Alhaurín de la Torre, Málaga, in 1970. His work is characterized by the representation of successions of pictorial notes of various timbres and shapes, harmonized as in a captivating score. Ortega has a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Granada, although much of his artistic training has been self-taught. He currently lives and works between Beijing and Málaga.Su particular pictorial conception gives rise to works in which masses of oil abound on the reverses. A technique that starts from sweating, that is, from sweating the oil through the thin layers of linen. Colors that intermingle and interact, generating synergies and movements. Liquid brushstrokes curl up in a universe that announces a change. What is essential in his works arises from the harmonization of opposites, from impetus and restraint, from expression and formality, from substance and form, from what lies deep and what moves on the surface, from what Gilles Deleuze called "the haptic." Ortega has exhibited his work in numerous national and international galleries and art centres, and has participated in important art fairs such as ARCOmadrid and Art Beijing. He has received awards such as the Regional Prize for Plastic Arts of the Diputación de Málaga in 2007 or the First Prize of the International Painting Contest of the Focus-Abengoa Foundation in 2011.Su work can be found in important public and private collections, such as the Focus-Abengoa Foundation, the Unicaja Foundation, the Los Bragales Collection or the Banco Sabadell Collection.