New Works by Cuban printmaker Osmievy Ortega

March 5 – April 30, 2015

Meet the artist at the artist reception, March 5, 2012

6 – 9 pm

(Laguna Beach) Working tirelessly without the distractions of Internet or television, Cuban artist Osmievy Ortega has advanced traditional woodcut printmaking by combining meticulous texture and depth with the element of time, carving giant panels of wood, that when completed stand two times larger than the artist himself. The patience in which he carves the wood is equal to the time spent transferring the image to paper, which he does by using a small bent spoon as a burnishing tool.

Sponsored to leave Cuba for this exhibition, Ortega will be present for the artist’s reception on March 5th. LAND OF OS will feature the artist’s hand carved plates along with works on paper in series created exclusively for saltfineart, marking the first time his works on wood have been exhibited in the United States.

Only 32 years old, Ortega has lived his entire life within the constructs of Castro’s particular brand of Communism. Raised in an environment with very few modern conveniences, Ortega was taught to respect the fragile and oftentimes scarce resources contained on the island. Nature became to him something sacred. Raised in part by grandmother, a natural healer and someone who worked closely with plants and animals, Osmievy is deeply indebted to the natural world and it shows in the tender way in which he portrays an array of flora and fauna.

Currently living and working in Havana, Cuba with a studio on the grounds of the prestigious ISA (Instituto Superior de Arte), Ortega first graduated from the ISA and is now a professor there, fostering a renewed interest in progressive printmaking techniques. Already a sensation in Cuba, Ortega has had solo-exhibitions of his work in Washington DC and the Cleveland Institute of Art as well as numerous group exhibitions within the United States, Mexico and Spain.

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