Through his art, created of colorful yet anonymous faces and well-known cultural icons, Tony Ortega has documented the experience of the Latino community in the U.S. for more than 25 years. His new exhibit digs deeper into the theme of immigration.
Since 2003, Ortega has worked to create Mi Frontera Es Su Frontera (My Border Is Your Border), the 28 pieces on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Boulder until Sept. 5.
“What I am trying to say with my work is most people who come here, whether legally or illegally, are making positive contributions to our economy,” Ortega said. “They end up taking care of our kids, picking up our trash, picking our fruits and vegetables.”
Petra Sertic, the museum’s assistant curator, said Ortega’s pieces are even more relevant today because of the debate about the country’s immigration system.
“With what is happening in the political arena with issues of immigration in this country, all of a sudden his work is more meaningful in society and presents a much stronger political message,” she said.
In the installation Ortega calls Apparition, he painted a group of people looking up at the Statue of Liberty with a vision of the Virgin of Guadalupe superimposed over her. To one side a blue barrel with a white flag bears the words “agua” and “water.”
Visitors to the museum view the work from the other side of a barbed wire fence.
Other original pieces include hand-colored etchings over Western Union international money transfer forms and over customs declarations.
“What you see in Tony’s art is real. He is living those stories, not merely observing and recording them. His art has heart,” said Bill Havu, owner of William Havu Gallery who has followed Ortega’s work for two decades.
Ortega’s passion to show immigrants in a just light comes partly from his experience as a young Chicano with deep roots in New Mexico.
“Growing up being Latino, you see images on television or read stories in the paper and usually they are negative stereotypical images, so I think it started there, and I wanted to show those people in a more authentic way,” Ortega said.
The exhibition of Mi Frontera Es Su Frontera is part of the Biennial of the Americas.
The program included a session in mural painting for children ages 8 to 14 from the I Have a Dream Foundation of Boulder County and The Family Learning Center. With Ortega, the kids created a mural that will also be on view until Sept. 5. From there, the mural will move to the Denver Public Library and eventually to the Boulder Public Library.
This story first appeared in The Post’s Spanish-language publication Viva Colorado.
Mi Frontera Es Su Frontera
When: Until Sept. 5
Where: Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th St.
Cost: Adults $5; seniors, students and educators $4; members and children under age 12, free.
More information: or 303-443-2122. For more information about Tony Ortega, visit
