Eugenia Ortiz channels energy and Costa Rican heritage in solo exhibit Resurgence
Courtesy photo
Kansas City based artist Eugenia Ortiz’s career took a pivotal shift nearly 12 years ago while in her apartment when she heard a voice telling her to save eggshells, and she hasn’t looked back since.
Ortiz defines herself as a born artist. Like many people, her humble beginnings as an artist included Crayola crayons, cheap watercolor palettes, and drawing on household items. Her first work of art was her grandmother’s TV, which she painted with red nail polish.
Growing up in Los Angeles, Ortiz’s mother enrolled her in a performance arts magnet school that fostered her creativity, exposing her to different disciplines like dance, music, and ceramics.
Despite being immersed in the arts during her childhood, Ortiz had plans to be a veterinarian. However, those plans came to a halt when her high school art teacher’s passion for art sparked something on the inside of her, ultimately leading her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in design at KU and later on, a master’s degree in textiles.
While trying to find a sense of direction after graduate school, Ortiz turned to painting.
Around that time, Ortiz was also working on a sculpture project. One day when she asked herself what to put on the sculpture, a voice that wasn’t hers replied “eggshells.”
While somewhat taken aback, she persisted and ended up creating something beautiful.
When building out the sculpture, Ortiz first created an armature and built on it using materials like silk and paper along with gel and acrylic mediums. Then, she covered it with painted eggshells and finished them off with clear gloss.
“Before, I was working with steel, welding, and metal smithing and also creating large-scale sculptures, but working with eggshells is different. It’s highly textured and similar to textiles,” says Ortiz.
Eugenia Ortiz sculpture // Photo by Aaron Paden
From that moment on, she started to use them in her paintings as well, crushing them up and mixing them into her paint.
A few years later, Ortiz experienced a spiritual awakening, opening herself up to new ways to connect with the world around her. She learned about sacred geometry and began using shapes like triangles, hexagons, and crop circles, which some believe to be created by aliens. Aside from learning about sacred geometry, Ortiz also spent time participating in energy work training which fueled her practice of channeling artwork that she’s known for today.
In her latest solo exhibition Resurgence, Ortiz invites you into a fully immersive experience of channeling artwork featuring paintings reflective of her Costa Rican heritage filled with vibrant colors, textures and shapes. She also specializes in live clothing painting, an extension of her channeling artwork that allows her to connect with people on a more intimate level.
Eugenia Ortiz live painting session // Photo Courtesy of Eugenia Ortiz
Much like her process with the rest of her artwork, Ortiz begins each live painting session by setting an intention with each person. Once the intention is set, she channels energy and creates art on their clothes that is unique to them. “It’s intended to be living art that reminds them of those powerful intentions that they set,” says Ortiz. What makes it even cooler is that the art can be seen with 3-d glasses.
The exhibit also features a few events including a blacklight DJ party on Nov 4, a sip and paint party on Nov 8, with a special live performance by Calvin Arsenia to close out the exhibit on Nov 11.
Check out Eugenia Ortiz’s Resurgence exhibit at the Mission Arts Center until November 11. Follow Eugenia on Instagram and check out her website to learn more about her artwork.
