We recently connected with MariaTeresa Ortiz-Naretto and have shared our conversation below.

Hi MariaTeresa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Since I decided to embrace my passion as an artist, I have been creating artworks that showcases myself. Every single painting has become my self-portrait because I am exposing my entire life on each one. Palette knives dance around a carefully stretched canvas, and the matter all around delivers expressive paintings that show my soul. And I should say that my last two series, “Goddesses” and “Los Amantes-The Lovers” dig deep into that with a more mature artistic language and a technique that reveal my unique style.

The Goddesses Series is a survey of actresses since the 1910’s in Hollywood. Some of them are really well-known such as Marilyn Monroe, Katharine Hepburn, and Sophia Loren. They are among my favorites. Yet, Lupita Trovar, Beatriz Michelena, and Katy Jurado are almost forgotten in America. These actresses as many other from the series have a Latin American background as I have. I chose them for that reason. And I, intriguingly, include my self-portrait in this series because I would have loved to be part of that Golden Era of films. This series is still in progress and is going to participate in a solo exhibition in January 2025.

Los Amantes-The Lovers Series just begin the last January. I am exploring the search for love. The love that never happens. The love that sometimes returns. The love that always abandons. The love that remains forever. This summer I am going to work on a bigger piece to continue the series. I am looking forward to discovering it with my palette knives. Mostly, I am happy that my solo for Los Amantes is already scheduled for February 2025.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Cold wax and oil are the main techniques that I utilize in my artworks. Either on canvas or on paper, the matter appears in a textured movement of strokes, swirls, and lumps. The texture and colorful palette surrender to figurative forms. My admiration for Italian Old Master Drawings and Paintings with a language that reveals my interest for the 20th Century textured surfaces describe my stylistic sources.

I am a New Jersey based artist, who was born in Rancagua, Chile, and soon after raised in two countries, Argentina and Chile. By conserving the last names of my parents, I praise my fascinating multicultural background that led me to immerse in drawing and painting, art history, and philosophy studies. These perspectives determine my paintings with profuse impasto, flat surfaces, and vivid colors, a style that far from being eclectic results in unique images of nature, myths, human figures, and portraits.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is to have the courage of learning to know myself. I am exploring my triumphs and qualms. But I always wonder what could be appealing to viewers. I try to find in my artworks something that may become relevant to them. And always, every single time, my answer is the same. What is important to me shall capture the gaze of the viewer. So, I keep opening pathways to my interior. The most important thing for me is to find answers about the meaning of my life. That is why my artworks are about my own life. They depict what I am discovering about myself. They cure my sorrows. They battle my wars. They give me hope. They offer me peace. And, they always save me.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I was constantly going back and for in my artistic career. I studied art from my young age. But later I earned my two college degrees in Art History and Philosophy. I worked in the Fine Arts Museum of Buenos Aires. But I took time off to raise my children. I kept painting and hiding my work. And I always have that feeling that I abandoned what was important to me.

I remember I was returning from Rutgers University knowing that I was mistaken again. I love to read, I love to write, and I feel that I was doing all wrong again. For an instant, and it’s not clear how long, I couldn’t breathe any longer. With fury and anger, I grabbed a pencil and drew a sketch on a small notebook. I can’t stop painting since then. Interesting, that sketch is the foundation of my “Los Amantes-The Lovers” Series. For that reason, this series is so dear to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mtonpaintings.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mton_193/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariateresa.ortiznaretto.1