Virgil Ortiz's artistry extends across various media and boundaries—challenging societal expectations and breaking taboos. Raised in a creative environment filled with storytelling, collecting clay, gathering wild plants, and producing figurative pottery, he remains influenced by his grandmother and mother, renowned Cochiti Pueblo potters.
Ortiz's works are exhibited in museum collections worldwide, including the Design Museum den Bosch, Fondation Cartier pour I'art contemporain, Triennale Milano, Smithsonian Institution, Denver Art Museum, Autry Museum of the American West, and the Lowe Art Museum in Miami. His latest exhibition, I AM: Indigenous Ancestral Memory at the Hickory Museum of Art in North Carolina, is a testament to his global influence, exploring the fascinating intersections of art and science fiction, propelling Indigenous futurism to new heights.
The events of the Pueblo Revolt are little known among most Americans today; however, it remains a pivotal era of New Mexico's history. Ortiz's mission is to cultivate global awareness that Pueblo communities are alive and thriving, reflecting generations of strength, resilience, brilliance, and vitality.