ALBERTO ORTEGA-TREJO

Mexican artist, researcher and architectural designer.



His work uses architecture, drawing, sculpture, writing and video to explore histories of indigeneity in architectural modernity, the production of extreme environments, the spatial politics of the colonial encounters in North America and the architectures of social experiments. He has been an IDEAS Fellow of the Society of Architectural Historians and a grantee of Jumex Foundation for Contemporary Art, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and DCASE, among others. His work has been shown at Prairie, DePaul Art Museum, BienalSur, Ca’ Foscari Zattere, Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Andrew Rafacz Gallery, Uri-Eichen Gallery, SpaceP11 and Centro de Arte y Filosofía. He has been a guest speaker for institutions and organizations like DocTalks x MoMA for the Emilio Ambasz Institute, the American Institute of Architects, the Society of Architectural Historians, Smart Museum of Art, Materia Abierta, UPenn, MAS Context and CENTRO.


He is a lecturer of Architecture History and Studio at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Program Manager of the Katz Center for Mexican Studies at the University of Chicago and an Independent Spatial Designer.


CURRENTLY: One of the qualities of nocturnal beings is that they speak words of truth. Aug 17 - Oct 5 Prairie, Chicago. Solo exhibition



ARTIFICIAL-AGENCY 


Architectural Consultancy
Exhibition Strategy
Research and Publication


Previous clients and collaborators include, Art Institute of Chicago, Singapore Art Museum, Edith Farnsworth House,  Goethe-Institut Chicago, Michael Rakowitz Studio, Black Athena Collective, Dawit L. Petros, and  Center for Latin American Studies at The University of Chicago.

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Keep scrolling for selected projects ↆ

Freedom, baby, is never having to say you’re sorry (The Caravan)

On Protest and Capitalism

Video Installation - at Sullivan Galleries

On April 15th of 2019, Tax Day in the United States, I conducted an ambiguous protest with three white limousines in the city of Chicago. Through the choreographies of presidential motorcades, parades, and other performances of power, The Caravan calls into question currents methods of protest, public space occupation and its efficacy in a world where everything is fed and produced by capitalism. Its elements and sites visited (Grant Park, Haymarket Square, Ida B. Wells Blvd, Martin Luther King Drive, etc.) address both the history of protest, class, the problem of Whiteness and the natural phenomena of migration. The flags were flashing the following slogans:

Automatic Protest Vehicle, After Protest, Privileged Discomfort

. The event was documented by a press car and a drone.

Video Installation: One curved 60” and two 48” monitors,  

This project was possible thanks to the support of: Andrea Hunt, Joshi Radin and Ilona Gaynor.