Malcriada Creada Exhibit
Open on Fridays from 12 pm to 5pm and Saturydays from 9am to 1pm
Will be on display until August 31
El Chante: Casa de Cultura
804 Park Ave SW
Albuquerque, NM 87105
In Malcriada Creada, Isabela Ortega’s work speaks towards the unseen and often forgotten parts of life. Following her journey to Chicago in pursuit of art, Malcriada Creada marks this point in time—the culmination of her work thus far.
Since childhood, Isabela has always been artistic and creative. She is drawn to the ways in which materials behave and can affect the human body. The “bonding” element within her completely different practices is often extreme or labor intensive, but can also result in extremities. Much like the word malcriada, Isabela sees these mediums as stubborn yet incredibly forgiving and full of wisdom. The hand in her work gives these symbols new life. Dark colors, pattern layering, and Mexican art canons are a few of the tools she uses in this approach. Isabela believes that art can serve not only as a personal creative outlet but also as an approach to life; a way to notice the magnificent underneath the surfaces of everyday reality. Her work aims to guide the viewer through their own experiences using her memories as an avenue, sparking communal healing and conversations of change about oppressive systems.
Isabela Ortega (2002) is a Nuevomexicana scholar and multidisciplinary artist, currently based in Chicago, IL and Albuquerque, NM. Her work illuminates los de abajo, which can describe those from marginalized communities as well as the “underneath” mundanity of life. Isabela has experience with a variety of mediums and writing is always the starting point. Within her practice, everyday life is witnessed through a storytelling lens focused on identity, grief, memory, nostalgia, and self-actualization.
Familismo and being Chicana primarily inspire Isabela. Through her first-generation experience, the complexities of these topics are brought to light. Isabela’s artistic journey and perseverance, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, were featured in the Albuquerque Journal. Additional accomplishments include unsolicited funding from The Center of Southwest Culture on behalf of the TIASO Artist Cooperative. From an early age, her efforts to uplift fine arts programs at Highland High School were recognized through the International Career Development Conference.
Emphasizing in Writing, Isabela attained her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as a merit scholar. She attended the Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists’ Residency as a Neiman Scholar and the 41st cohort of The Oxbow School as a merit scholar. Her artwork and writing have been published through Brill's Critical Storytelling from the Borderlands: En la Linea, SAIC Magazine, FNews Magazine: SAIC Arts, Culture and Politics, and Leonardo: CNM Fine Arts and Literary Journal among others.