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WAR: New York 2000–2003
Survey Exhibition of Early Works at Artspace in Raleigh, North Carolina
December 6th, 2024 – February 23rd, 2025.

During times of cultural unrest and division, the importance of artists is amplified. Art provides much more than a beautiful respite from the chaos of life, it can function as a pathway to understanding other experiences and perspectives and allows for thoughtful critique that can lead to real change as individuals and a culture as a whole. In focusing on the work of a single artist who has taken the responsibility of their creative calling seriously, we have a rare opportunity to witness the unearthing of deep seeded truths which speak to a universal human experience. Over time, the repetition of particular motifs, patterns, colors, and gestures functions as a unique language whose narrative is slowly revealed after careful examination of a body of work. Many truths can be held at once within a single canvas, and it is only through the passage of time that these truths take shape in observable ways, multiplying and fully revealing themselves. As viewers, our interpretations, along with the social, political, and cultural context of current and past events, create an opportunity for the continuation of the work of the artist. Art is one of the few things that presents us with the possibility of continual and expansive thought. It is an ongoing conversation.

This exhibition focuses on a three year period, in which painter Renzo Ortega immigrated to the US from Peru to continue his study of art at the Art Students League of New York. During this time, he painted prolifically, creating expressive imagery that incorporates iconography, color, and patterns of his life in Peru with the urban chaos of New York City. After just one year in the US, Ortega found himself in a city fractured by the violent destruction of 9/11 resulting in a collective shock and grief that fundamentally changed our world view. For Ortega, painting is an act of resistance, and the powerful canvases he created at this time capture a pinnacle moment of personal and cultural unrest. In addition to painting, Ortega also kept multiple sketch books, wrote and performed music, and documented his life in New York through snapshots, quick sketches and a collection of ephemera from his favorite dive bars, punk shows, and pop-up art exhibitions. All of these aspects of the artist’s life are now on view in the gallery space adding to the paintings’ rich historic document of the complex multifaceted aspects of a young immigrant artist’s life during a historic period of immense upheaval.

WAR: New York 2000–2003 explores Ortega’s intense creative output as a young artist in New York in the early 2000s. This exhibition seeks to reveal the importance of examining artists’ work during times of civic unrest as a focused lens to better understanding our values, beliefs, and culture. Additionally, it is a celebration of the work of an artist who has remained true to his creative voice over time.

Annah Lee Creative Director