Jose Ortega @ James Street North Gallery

Jose Ortega Down in the Garden; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2013

Jose Ortega Down in the Garden; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2013

Next door to you me gallery on James St. North (in Hamilton, ON) is the James North Art Collective. Toronto-based, Ecuadoran-born, New York-educated Jose Ortega's collages are on exhibit in a two-person show with his mother, Juana Zuniga. Ortega masterfully combines paint and paper in his colourful collages. Never has a sugar bag looked so beautiful (Down in the Garden) with the cut paper revealing the painted and collaged surface below.

Jose Ortega Palo Paloma; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2013

Jose Ortega Palo Paloma; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2013

Girlie magazines and newspaper flyers are fair game in Ortega's hands. Immediately I was drawn to Ortega's collages and later I realized why. Ortega is the Artistic Director of Toronto's Lula Lounge, and I've been collecting their postcards for years.

Jose Ortega Walk in the Woods; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2013

Jose Ortega Walk in the Woods; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2013

Walk in the Woods has a warm patina. Unlike the collages in the above images, Walk in the Woods is more paint than paper. Regardless of the ratio of paint to paper, Ortega makes it all work.

Jose Ortega Galapagos; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2013

Jose Ortega Galapagos; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2013

Because of its scale (24" high by 60" wide) and technique (cut plywood over a painted wood background) Galapagos stood out from the other work. Although I am drawn to collage, Galapagos, with its finely cut botanical and zoological forms, is my favourite. At the technical level, I marvel that plywood could be cut so intricately. Did Ortega cut it all by hand or did he use a laser cutter? Either way, it's stunning. The Ortega-Zuniga exhibition continues until February 3, 2013.