April 3 - 26, 2025
From the organizers:
“Vestiges of our Femininity is a solo exhibition by Olivia Ortiz, curated by Leslie Moody Castro and looks at the female form as a body of contradiction and change.
Olivia Flores Ortiz is a visual artist whose work interrogates the complex relationships between identity, power, and historical representation. Grounded in drawing, painting, and experimental sculpture, her practice is distinguished by a rigorous engagement with oil painting and the historical depiction of flesh. Through a process that is both analytical and visceral, she employs paint as a site of tension—where presence and absence, control and liberation, are negotiated on the surface of the canvas.
Deeply informed by her research into female-produced masterworks, Ortiz’s work functions as both a critique and a reclamation, exposing the omissions and biases within traditional Western art historical narratives. She recontextualizes classical motifs, subverting the expectations of the gaze and reclaiming agency for figures historically relegated to the periphery. Her compositions, often rich in materiality and gesture, explore the body as a contested space—one shaped by both personal experience and collective memory.
Beyond her studio practice, Ortiz extends her conceptual inquiries into the public sphere as CEO of Burnt Nopal, a creative studio dedicated to branding, design, and storytelling with a focus on authenticity and community engagement. She also serves on the boards of Planned Parenthood South Texas and the Bexar County Child Welfare Commission, further solidifying her commitment to social advocacy.
By engaging with the language of classical figuration while disrupting its conventions, Ortiz’s work operates in a liminal space—one that challenges the weight of art history while forging new, more inclusive narratives. www.oliviaortizart.com
Leslie Moody Castro is an independent curator and writer whose practice is based on itinerancy and collaboration. She has produced, organized, and collaborated on projects in Mexico and the United States for nearly two decades. She is committed to creating moments of exchange and dialogue within exhibitions, is a co-founder of Unlisted Projects Residency, Co-Lab Projects, and in 2022 served as inaugural curatorial fellow and curator in residence at New Mexico State University and Casa Otro Residency, respectively. She has been awarded two grants from the National Endowment of the Arts for her curatorial projects and a fellowship from the Department of State for her research on borders. Moody Castro was guest editor of Glasstire Magazine from 2021—2024, and has been selected as co-curator of the Aurora Biennial in Dallas slated for November 2024. She is the founder of AtravesArte and believes Mariachis make everything better. Leslie Moody Castro
Mercury Project is a space to create, grow, and connect. It is a multifunctional creative space housing all forms of art and design. from ceramics to video editing to monthly workshops taught by in-house artists, there is plenty of room to work and always a chance to learn. mercury project offers unique, mobile shared studios in the 3500 square foot gallery and private offices which allow for a collective, supportive environment. Mercury Project”
Reception: April 3, 2025 | 7–10 pm
538 Roosevelt
San Antonio, 78210 Texas
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