Events

To mark the occasion of Rubén Ortiz-Torres' first major solo exhibition in New York, join us for a lively discussion that pairs the artist with his sister, Gabriela Ortiz, a much-celebrated classical music composer. Their family biography is the starting point for a rich conversation about the arts, which sets the stage for a discussion about what these two talented siblings share in their creative lives. The focus will then shift to the ways their work in art and music have been shaped by personal and public events over the past five years. The evening will be introduced by Betti-Sue Hertz, curator of Rubén Ortiz-Torres: Zonas de Colaboración and director of the Wallach Art Gallery. 

For event registration please use this link:

https://www.showclix.com/event/rub-n-ortiz-torres-and-gabriela-ortiz-talk-

Rubén Ortiz-Torres was raised in Mexico City, where he began his career as a photographer, printmaker, and painter in the early 1980s. He received his BFA from Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in 1986. Ortiz-Torres moved to Los Angeles in 1990, completing his MFA at the California Institute of Arts in 1992. He has been a professor of visual arts at UC San Diego since 2001. A mid-career survey of his work, Customatismo/Customatism was exhibited at the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo at UNAM in 2019. In 2011 he was co-curator with Jesse Lerner of the exhibition, Mex/L.A.: “Mexican” Modernism(s) in Los Angeles,1930–1985. Ortiz-Torres’s work is included in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, and many others, both private and public. 

Gabriela Ortiz has written music for dance, theater and cinema, and has actively collaborated with poets, playwrights, and historians. She has been hailed by longtime collaborator Gustavo Dudamel as “one of the most talented composers in the world” and recognized by the 2025 Grammy Awards. Gabriela creates endlessly vibrant music that blends and transcends musical traditions. She is the 2024–2025 Debs Composer's Chair at Carnegie Hall. Her orchestral works are featured in concerts by The Met Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, including the New York premiere of a concerto for cellist Alisa Weilerstein. Her most recent album, “Revolución diamantina,” was chosen by NPR as one of the best classical albums of 2024.