Art Location
Cargill Hall
45 Forsyth St.
Boston, MA 02115
Felipe Ortiz
Plumage
Oct. 19–Nov. 10, 2020
Felipe Ortiz’s paintings and murals are a unique fusion of artistic themes, from urban scenery and nature to abstracted geometry.
Born in Colombia, Ortiz immigrated with his family to the U.S. when he was 14. His mural at Northeastern features seasonal migratory birds, whose journey south to north and back again resembles his own. The mural is part of a style called “Explosive Nature” that he’s been developing for six years and represents his Latin American roots.
The mural, located on the side of the Stearns Center facing Huntington Avenue, features a technique called “wet on wet” painting, in which Ortiz mixes colors on the wall itself while the paint is still wet, rather than mixing them beforehand. The range of colors used in the mural was created from red, blue, yellow, and teal base paints.
“One of the beauties of painting for the public is that you can communicate a feeling or sensation or emotion, and as long as the viewer can see that and stop and look at the piece and take that away, that to me makes it successful and connects with the community.”
—Felipe Ortiz
Ortiz collaborated with the College of Arts, Media and Design’s makerspace, whose staff laser-cut butterfly stencils that help tie his mural visually into an adjacent piece by French graffiti artist Jef Aérosol.