Artist of the day, March 14: Damián Ortega, Mexican sculptor

Damián Ortega, 42, is based in Berlin but was born in Mexico City. Both places figure prominently in his work. Mr. Ortega cites Berlin’s transitional urban landscape as a major influence. But his art materials — from tortillas to Beetles — are often staples of Mexican life.

Largely influenced by Gabriel Orozco, Damián Ortega explores specific, economic, aesthetic and cultural situations through his sculptures, installations, videos and actions. With intellectual rigour and sense of playfulness, his pieces explore how regional culture affects commodity consumption. His sculptures are made of the wide range of mundane objects that are subjected to his distinctively ‘mischievous process of transformation and dysfunction’. His works are punning commentaries on politics, consumer culture and the process of perception that underlie material culture. Often presented in 3D displays, these everyday objects are explored through their complex social and political implications. For him, the meaning is something that is produced through various relationships and interactions.

All right reserved. © 2018, Damián Ortega

Mr Damián Ortega

Untitled

1992, prometeo

1997, Obstáculo, Construcciones (autoconstruccion)

1997, Puente

1997, Tired Pickaxe metaphor of the natural

1998, Tortillas Construction Module

1999,  False Movement (Stability and Economic Growth)

2002, Cosmic thing 
Features a Volkswagen Beetle disassembled and strung up piece-by-piece in the manner of a repair guide, showing how the car was constructed. The work comments on the Volkswagen’s desire to be a product by and for “the people” (“volk” in German), but its manufacture was outsourced to Mexico and built by laborers required to understand its operation, but who may not be paid enough to own one themselves.

2002, Cosmic thing

2002, Cosmic thing

2002, Cosmic thing

2002, Cosmic thing detail

2002, Cosmic thing

2004, Iglesia en rotación

2004, Moby Dick

2005, Margin of Accident - Running Gag

2006, Fantasma Ghost

2007, Being II

2007, Classified Cob

2007, Controller of the Universe

2007, Controller of the Universe,

2007, Controller of the Universe, detail

2007, Controller of the Universe

2007, Moises

2007, Project for Social Housing

2009, Bartolomeu Mitre

2009, Building #1

2009, Champ de vision

2009, Champ de vision

2009, Do It Yourself Installation view

2009, Extensión, Construcciones (autoconstruccion)

2010, Architecture without Architects

2010, Architecture without Architects

2011 Borromeo's Knots 4

Kurimanzutto, Mexico City

2011, Melting Point

2012, Congo River

2012, Congo River

2012, Fossilised

2012, Preserved

2013 Deaf torch (The inner search. Syntax)

2013 Dissection in the open space (Alexander Calder tool)

2013 History of time linear thinking

2013 How to See

2013 Mythic language organ. Object - organ,

2013 Technological DNA,

2013, Continuous fragment

2013, Cosmogonía doméstica

2013, Harvest

2013, How to make illusions

2013, Mechanism level-Speech. Complex Mechanism

2014, The end of material

2015 Transición del mono al hombre

2015, Physical Graffiti

2016, The Rocket and the Abyss,