THE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART/BOSTON

Press Release

LAST CHANCE TO SEE DAMIAN ORTEGA: DO IT YOURSELF

CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED SHOW CLOSES JAN. 18 AT THE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART/BOSTON

"Schematic yet unpredictable, a seductive combination" – The New York Times
"Masterful" – Art Papers
“A kind of magic act” – Boston Globe
 
 
Boston, Mass. – If you haven’t seen Damián Ortega: Do It Yourself yet, this is your last chance to catch this critically-acclaimed show at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. Exploded, suspended, crawling and spinning, Ortega’s playful and imaginative work includes a sculpture made entirely out of tortillas, chairs re-arranged in gravity-defying new forms, even a fully deconstructed Volkswagen Beetle that hangs from the gallery ceiling. Closing Jan. 18, Damián Ortega: Do It Yourself is the artist’s first major museum survey. The exhibition brings together sculpture, photography, video and film from 1996 to 2007 in an open gallery that invites exploration and unexpected connections between the artworks.
 
On Dec. 29 and 30 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the ICA invites families to enjoy art activities designed in collaboration with Damián Ortega to complement the exhibition. Based on Ortega’s advice for kids to “play with everything”, the activities—such as storyboard drawing and making sculptures out of dominoes—encourage creative-thinking about the materials we use to make art.  A selection of family-friendly films will be screened throughout the day. All activities are free with museum admission. Youth 17 and under get free admission to the ICA everyday.
 
About Damián Ortega: Do It Yourself
In playful and imaginative ways, Mexican-born artist Damián Ortega explores the elements that make up a whole – whether a dwelling, a body, a society or an economic system. In Ortega's art, everyday objects such as entire cars, chairs, and building bricks are pulled apart, suspended or rearranged into dynamic configurations. The artist’s first major museum survey, Damián Ortega: Do It Yourself presents 19 works from 1996 to the present. It includes large-scale sculpture, photography, and film, and a work never before on view. The exhibition is curated by Jessica Morgan, ICA adjunct curator and curator of contemporary art at Tate Modern, London, with assistance from Randi Hopkins, ICA associate curator. Damián Ortega: Do It Yourself  runs through Jan. 18, 2010.
 
Artist bio
Born in 1967 in Mexico City, Damián Ortega is the leading Mexican artist of the generation that emerged in the wake of the influence of Gabriel Orozco and Francis Alÿs. In 2005, Ortega’s work was included in Made in Mexico (2004), a group exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. Solo exhibitions of his work have been presented at the Tate Modern, London (2005), the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2005) and the Centre Pompidou, Paris (2008). Damián Ortega: Do It Yourself is the first survey exhibition of the artist’s work. Ortega lives in Mexico City and Berlin.

Damián Ortega: Do It Yourself is sponsored by the Mexico Tourism Board.

Additional support is provided by the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Trust, kurimanzutto, Gladstone Gallery, John Kaldor and Naomi Milgrom Kaldor, and the Cesar Cervantes Collection.

Official hotel sponsor of the ICA/Boston: Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel

About the ICA
An influential forum for multi-disciplinary arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art has been at the leading edge of art in Boston for more than 70 years. Like its iconic building on Boston's waterfront, the ICA offers new ways of engaging with the world around us. Its exhibitions and programs provide access to contemporary art, artists, and the creative process, inviting audiences of all ages and backgrounds to participate in the excitement of new art and ideas.  The ICA, located at 100 Northern Avenue, is open Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 am - 5 pm; Thursday and Friday, 10 am - 9 pm; and Saturday and Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm.  Admission is $15 adults, $13 seniors and $10 students, and free for members and children 17 and under. ICA Free Admission for Youth is sponsored by State Street Foundation. Free admission on Target Free Thursday Nights, 5 - 9 pm. Free admission for families at ICA Play Dates (2 adults + children 12 and under) on the last Saturday of the month. For more information, call 617-478-3100 or visit our Web site at www.icaboston.org.

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