Aztlán, acrylic and collage on panel
Aztlán celebrates the spirit of Chicano community, where history, memory, activism, and everyday life converge in a vibrant neighborhood landscape. Collection of Colorado Spring Fine Art Center
Aztlán celebrates the spirit of Chicano community, where history, memory, activism, and everyday life converge in a vibrant neighborhood landscape. Collection of Colorado Spring Fine Art Center
TONY ORTEGA
Artist | Painter | Printmaker | Educator
Denver, Colorado
EDUCATION
1995 — Master of Fine Arts, Studio Art, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
1982 — Associate Degree, Fine Art, Rocky Mountain School of Art, Denver, Colorado
1980 — Bachelor of Arts, Commercial Spanish; Certificate in Latin American Studies, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2003–Present — Professor of Fine Arts, Department of Fine and Performing Arts, Regis University, Denver, Colorado
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
Tony Ortega is a Denver-based Chicano artist whose career spans more than four decades. Working across painting, printmaking, pastel, installation, photography, and public art, his work explores Chicano identity, Nepantla, migration, cultural memory, spirituality, and the evolving experience of the American Southwest.
REPRESENTATION
William Havu Gallery, Denver, Colorado (1983–Present)
AWARDS, HONORS & ARCHIVES
2018 — Regis University Faculty Lecturer of the Year
2008 — East High School Heritage Hall Inductee
1999 — Colorado Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts
1998 — Denver Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts
1995 — Hall of Excellence Inductee, CU Heritage Center, University of Colorado Boulder
1993 — Colorado 100 Certificate of Recognition for Contribution and Lasting Impact on the Arts in Colorado
1993 — Celebration of the Denver Art Museum Centennial, Certificate of Recognition, Historic Denver, Inc. and The Denver Post
1991 — AFKEY Award for Excellence in Art, Alliance for Contemporary Art of the Denver Art Museum
1988 — 1989 Brother of the Year, Big Brothers of Metro Denver/Boulder
2015 — Smithsonian Archives of American Art — Tony Ortega Papers
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025–2026 — Who Am I? / ¿Quién Soy Yo? Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, NM
2025 — Imágenes de Nepantla, The Art Base, Basalt, CO
2024–2025 — Imágenes de Nepantla, William Havu Gallery
2022 — Chicanarte de Aztlán, William Havu Gallery
2021 — Magia Chicana, Loveland Museum
2020–2021 — Raíces y Ramas | Roots and Branches, Denver Botanic Gardens
2020 — Adventures of Cholo Vato and Pano: 20th Día de los Muertos Anniversary, Longmont Museum, Longmont, CO,
2020 — Doble Sentido, William Havu Gallery
2019 — Studio 238: Doble Sentido, Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM
2019 — Doble Sentido, Sangre de Cristo Arts & Conference Center, Pueblo, CO
SELECTED MUSEUM & INSTITUTIONAL EXHIBITIONS
2026 — Help Wanted / Leave Now: Operation Wetback & the Revolving Door of Mass Deportation, California Museum, Sacramento, CA: The artist’s work was acquired for exhibition research/display materials
2026–2027 — Frida: The Making of an Icon, The Tate Modern, London, England — artist’s work featured in exhibition research/display materials
2026 — Tres Voces, Un Corazón, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art
2026 — Frida: The Making of an Icon, Fine Art Museum Houston — artist’s work featured in exhibition research/display materials
2025 — PrintXploration, Prospectus Art Gallery, Chicago, IL
2024–2025 — Nepantla, Museum of Art Fort Collins, Fort Collins, CO
2023 — Desert Rider: Dreaming in Motion, Denver Art Museum,
2023 — Estampas de la Raza, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
2023 — Rocky Mountain Triennial, Museum of Art Fort Collins, CO
2023 — La Onda Chicana, Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT
2023 — Breakthroughs: A Celebration of Redline at 15”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO
2022 — Surrounding Kahlo, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
2022–2024 — Art in the Embassy, U.S. Embassy, Mexico City
2021–2022—Smoking Mirrors, Paths of Resistance and Resilience, Museo de las Américas, Denver, CO,
2020—Chicano/a/x Printmaking..., SDSU Downtown Gallery
2019–2020 — Pertenecer: Chicanx Artists on Belonging" at the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center Museum at Colorado College
2019 — Mundos Alternos, Queens Museum, New York
SELECTED MUSEUM & PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin
Denver Art Museum
California Museum, Sacramento, CA
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Museum at Colorado College
Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian & Western Art, Indianapolis, IN
History Colorado, Denver, CO
La Salle University Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque, NM
National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin, TX
Kirkland Museum, Denver, CO
Laguna Art Museum, Laguna, CA
Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, NM
Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo, Mexico City
Museo del Barrio, New York City
Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
University of Colorado Art Museum, Boulder, CO
Western History Collection, Denver Public Library
UNIVERSITYIES & ACADEMIC COLLECTIONS
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
GOVERNMENT & CIVIC COLLECTIONS
SELECTED PERMANENT PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONS
SELECTED COMMUNITY MURAL PROJECTS
CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
RedLine Contemporary Art Center, Denver, CO, 2018-2020
Art Gym, Denver, CO, 2017-2018
Serie Project (2014, 2010, 2006)
Rocky Mountain National Park (2002)
Self Help Graphics & Art (1995, 1993, 1991)
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA
PUBLICATIONS & EXHIBITION CATALOGS
The View from Denver: Contemporary American Art from the Denver Art Museum, Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado, 1997
Featured work: Tony Ortega, Westside Jóvenes, 1991, painting.
Southwest Art Magazine, Tony Ortega, Feature article by Carol Dickinson, July 1989
Estampas de la Raza: Contemporary Prints from the Romo Collection, University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, 2012
Chicano Art for Our Millennium, Bilingual Press, Hispanic Research Center, Arizona State University, 2004
Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Art, Bilingual Press, Hispanic Research Center, Arizona State University, 2002
Border Crossings: Immigration in Contemporary Print, Exhibition Catalog Cover Art, La Salle University Art Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2016. Cover image featuring Tony Ortega's La Marcha de Los Desvalidos, silkscreen, (2010).
The Murals of Colorado: Walls That Speak, Johnson Books, Boulder, Colorado, 2012
Chicano/a/x Printmaking: Making Prints and Making History — 50 Years of Art Activism, San Diego State University, 2020
Fronteras del Futuro: Art in New Mexico and Beyond, National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2022
Nepantla, Museum of Art Fort Collins exhibition catalog, Fort Collins, Colorado, 2024
Rocky Mountain Triennial, Art Museum of Fort Collins exhibition catalog, 2023
New American Paintings, No. 174, April 2025
Artist Magazine, “Marks of Distinction,” Feature article, March/April 2025
Frida: The Making of an Icon, exhibition publication, Fine Art Museum of Houston. Featured work: Tony Ortega, Frida y Diego nos Muestran a México, 1991, silkscreen.
SELECTED MEDIA & ARTIST PROFILES
“A Chicano Family of Artists Takes Over a Boulder Exhibit: Tres Voces, Un Corazón,” Ella Cobb, Boulder Daily Camera, 2026
“A Latino Art Family Gives Voice and Heart to Boulder Exhibit,” Ricardo Romo, Latinos in America, 2026
“A New Exhibition at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art Explores Identity, Memory, Migration, and Belonging,” KGNU Radio, 2026
9NEWS Colorado—Caminos, feature on Tres Voces, Un Corazón, 2026
“Denver Latino Artist Tony Ortega,” Ricardo Romo, Latinos in America / Tejano Report, 2025
“Work in Progress with Tony Ortega,” Southwest Contemporary, Studio Visit, 2023
“The Artwork of Denver’s Tony Ortega Is a Confluence of His Mexican Heritage and American Identity,” Colorado Matters, Colorado Public Radio, 2017
“Portrait of the Artist: Tony Ortega,” The American Scholar, 2017
“Tony Ortega: Artist of the People,” Regis University Libraries, 2008
SELECTED COLLECTIONS & INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION SELECTED COLLECTIONS & INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
Represented in the U.S. Department of State Art in Embassies Program.
CURATORIAL PROJECTS & EXHIBITION DEVELOPMENT
Independent & Museum Curatorial Projects
2024
Nepantla, Fort Collins Museum of Art, Fort Collins, Colorado. Curator and exhibiting artist.
2014
Hybridity, Sangre de Cristo Arts & Conference Center, Pueblo, Colorado, April 12–May 24. Curator and exhibiting artist. Invited to organize the exhibition and select participating artists.
2010
Raíces y Ramas / Roots and Branches, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, Arvada, Colorado, September 16–November 14. Curator and exhibiting artist. Invited by Colin Parsons to select the participating artists.
1990–1992
Los Three, Colorado, and New Mexico. Curator/organizer and exhibiting artist. Exhibition featuring Carlos Fresquez, Carlos Santistevan, and Tony Ortega. Secured grant support, organized exhibition venues and touring presentations, and coordinated production of the exhibition catalogue.
1991
Homage to Frida and Diego, Curator/organizer and exhibiting artist, The Art Department, 772 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, Colorado, May 3–24. Exhibition featuring Lucile R. Contreras, Carlos Fresquez, Ernie Gallegos, Carlos Martinez, Sylvia Montero, Tony Ortega, Meggan Rodriguez, Maruca Salazar, and Carlos Santistevan.
Regis University — Curatorial Projects
2026
Three Santeros: Carlos Santistevan, Frank Zamora, and Sean Trujillo, Dayton Memorial Library, Regis University, Denver, Colorado, February 3–27. Curator. Exhibition of contemporary santeros exploring the continuing New Mexican santo tradition. Curated in conjunction with the course New Mexico Santos Tradition.
2025
Día de Muertos, Dayton Memorial Library, Regis University, Denver, Colorado. Curator. Exhibition featuring local Chicano artists and Regis University alumni.
2016
Two Santeras: Dayton Memorial Library, Regis University, Denver, Colorado. Curator. Exhibition featuring Teresa Duran and Lynn Frésquez.
Artist | Painter | Printmaker | Educator
Denver, Colorado
EDUCATION
1995 — Master of Fine Arts, Studio Art, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
1982 — Associate Degree, Fine Art, Rocky Mountain School of Art, Denver, Colorado
1980 — Bachelor of Arts, Commercial Spanish; Certificate in Latin American Studies, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2003–Present — Professor of Fine Arts, Department of Fine and Performing Arts, Regis University, Denver, Colorado
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
Tony Ortega is a Denver-based Chicano artist whose career spans more than four decades. Working across painting, printmaking, pastel, installation, photography, and public art, his work explores Chicano identity, Nepantla, migration, cultural memory, spirituality, and the evolving experience of the American Southwest.
REPRESENTATION
William Havu Gallery, Denver, Colorado (1983–Present)
AWARDS, HONORS & ARCHIVES
2018 — Regis University Faculty Lecturer of the Year
2008 — East High School Heritage Hall Inductee
1999 — Colorado Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts
1998 — Denver Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts
1995 — Hall of Excellence Inductee, CU Heritage Center, University of Colorado Boulder
1993 — Colorado 100 Certificate of Recognition for Contribution and Lasting Impact on the Arts in Colorado
1993 — Celebration of the Denver Art Museum Centennial, Certificate of Recognition, Historic Denver, Inc. and The Denver Post
1991 — AFKEY Award for Excellence in Art, Alliance for Contemporary Art of the Denver Art Museum
1988 — 1989 Brother of the Year, Big Brothers of Metro Denver/Boulder
2015 — Smithsonian Archives of American Art — Tony Ortega Papers
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025–2026 — Who Am I? / ¿Quién Soy Yo? Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, NM
2025 — Imágenes de Nepantla, The Art Base, Basalt, CO
2024–2025 — Imágenes de Nepantla, William Havu Gallery
2022 — Chicanarte de Aztlán, William Havu Gallery
2021 — Magia Chicana, Loveland Museum
2020–2021 — Raíces y Ramas | Roots and Branches, Denver Botanic Gardens
2020 — Adventures of Cholo Vato and Pano: 20th Día de los Muertos Anniversary, Longmont Museum, Longmont, CO,
2020 — Doble Sentido, William Havu Gallery
2019 — Studio 238: Doble Sentido, Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM
2019 — Doble Sentido, Sangre de Cristo Arts & Conference Center, Pueblo, CO
SELECTED MUSEUM & INSTITUTIONAL EXHIBITIONS
2026 — Help Wanted / Leave Now: Operation Wetback & the Revolving Door of Mass Deportation, California Museum, Sacramento, CA: The artist’s work was acquired for exhibition research/display materials
2026–2027 — Frida: The Making of an Icon, The Tate Modern, London, England — artist’s work featured in exhibition research/display materials
2026 — Tres Voces, Un Corazón, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art
2026 — Frida: The Making of an Icon, Fine Art Museum Houston — artist’s work featured in exhibition research/display materials
2025 — PrintXploration, Prospectus Art Gallery, Chicago, IL
2024–2025 — Nepantla, Museum of Art Fort Collins, Fort Collins, CO
2023 — Desert Rider: Dreaming in Motion, Denver Art Museum,
2023 — Estampas de la Raza, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
2023 — Rocky Mountain Triennial, Museum of Art Fort Collins, CO
2023 — La Onda Chicana, Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT
2023 — Breakthroughs: A Celebration of Redline at 15”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO
2022 — Surrounding Kahlo, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
2022–2024 — Art in the Embassy, U.S. Embassy, Mexico City
2021–2022—Smoking Mirrors, Paths of Resistance and Resilience, Museo de las Américas, Denver, CO,
2020—Chicano/a/x Printmaking..., SDSU Downtown Gallery
2019–2020 — Pertenecer: Chicanx Artists on Belonging" at the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center Museum at Colorado College
2019 — Mundos Alternos, Queens Museum, New York
SELECTED MUSEUM & PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin
Denver Art Museum
California Museum, Sacramento, CA
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Museum at Colorado College
Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian & Western Art, Indianapolis, IN
History Colorado, Denver, CO
La Salle University Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque, NM
National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin, TX
Kirkland Museum, Denver, CO
Laguna Art Museum, Laguna, CA
Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, NM
Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo, Mexico City
Museo del Barrio, New York City
Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
University of Colorado Art Museum, Boulder, CO
Western History Collection, Denver Public Library
UNIVERSITYIES & ACADEMIC COLLECTIONS
- Arizona State University, Hispanic Research Center, Tempe, Arizona
- Colorado State University, Lory Student Center Fine Art Collection, Fort Collins, Colorado
- Colorado State University–Pueblo, Art Department, Pueblo, Colorado
- Gregory Allicar Museum of Art, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO
- Regis University, Denver, Colorado
- University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado
- University of Colorado Denver / Anschutz Medical Campus, Colorado
- University of Colorado School of Law, Boulder, Colorado
- University of Denver Library, Special Collections and Archives, Denver, Colorado
- University of Minnesota, Department of Chicano Studies, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- University of New Mexico, Student Union Building, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
- William Paterson University, Wayne, New Jersey
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
- Regis University Santo Collection
- University of California, Santa Barbara — CEMA / Self-Help Graphics and Art Archives
- University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries — Special Collections
- University of Denver Special Collections
GOVERNMENT & CIVIC COLLECTIONS
- City and County of Denver, Colorado
- City of Arvada, Colorado
- City of Greenwood Village, Colorado
- City of Phoenix, Arizona
- City of Seattle, Washington
- City of Westminster, Colorado
- Colorado Council on the Arts, Denver, Colorado
- Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, Denver, Colorado
- State Services Building, State of Colorado
- Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
SELECTED PERMANENT PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONS
- Juntos / Together — City and County of Denver Public Art Program, 1991
- Northpark — City and County of Denver Public Art Program, 2002
- Take Me Out to the Game — Longmont Art in Public Places, 2003
- El Comedor de San Antonio — University of New Mexico Student Union Building
- Debajo de la Misma Luna — Longmont Art in Public Places, 2020
- Nepantla — Northern New Mexico College, 2025
SELECTED COMMUNITY MURAL PROJECTS
- La Raza Park Mural Project — Denver, 2021
- Regis University Mural Project — Denver, 2023
- Widefield Elementary School of the Arts — Colorado Springs, 2026
- Escuela Guadalupe — Denver, 2015
CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
- Dain Bosworth Incorporated, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Delta Dental Insurance, Denver, Colorado
- Kaiser Permanente, Denver, Colorado
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
RedLine Contemporary Art Center, Denver, CO, 2018-2020
Art Gym, Denver, CO, 2017-2018
Serie Project (2014, 2010, 2006)
Rocky Mountain National Park (2002)
Self Help Graphics & Art (1995, 1993, 1991)
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA
PUBLICATIONS & EXHIBITION CATALOGS
The View from Denver: Contemporary American Art from the Denver Art Museum, Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado, 1997
Featured work: Tony Ortega, Westside Jóvenes, 1991, painting.
Southwest Art Magazine, Tony Ortega, Feature article by Carol Dickinson, July 1989
Estampas de la Raza: Contemporary Prints from the Romo Collection, University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, 2012
Chicano Art for Our Millennium, Bilingual Press, Hispanic Research Center, Arizona State University, 2004
Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Art, Bilingual Press, Hispanic Research Center, Arizona State University, 2002
Border Crossings: Immigration in Contemporary Print, Exhibition Catalog Cover Art, La Salle University Art Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2016. Cover image featuring Tony Ortega's La Marcha de Los Desvalidos, silkscreen, (2010).
The Murals of Colorado: Walls That Speak, Johnson Books, Boulder, Colorado, 2012
Chicano/a/x Printmaking: Making Prints and Making History — 50 Years of Art Activism, San Diego State University, 2020
Fronteras del Futuro: Art in New Mexico and Beyond, National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2022
Nepantla, Museum of Art Fort Collins exhibition catalog, Fort Collins, Colorado, 2024
Rocky Mountain Triennial, Art Museum of Fort Collins exhibition catalog, 2023
New American Paintings, No. 174, April 2025
Artist Magazine, “Marks of Distinction,” Feature article, March/April 2025
Frida: The Making of an Icon, exhibition publication, Fine Art Museum of Houston. Featured work: Tony Ortega, Frida y Diego nos Muestran a México, 1991, silkscreen.
SELECTED MEDIA & ARTIST PROFILES
“A Chicano Family of Artists Takes Over a Boulder Exhibit: Tres Voces, Un Corazón,” Ella Cobb, Boulder Daily Camera, 2026
“A Latino Art Family Gives Voice and Heart to Boulder Exhibit,” Ricardo Romo, Latinos in America, 2026
“A New Exhibition at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art Explores Identity, Memory, Migration, and Belonging,” KGNU Radio, 2026
9NEWS Colorado—Caminos, feature on Tres Voces, Un Corazón, 2026
“Denver Latino Artist Tony Ortega,” Ricardo Romo, Latinos in America / Tejano Report, 2025
“Work in Progress with Tony Ortega,” Southwest Contemporary, Studio Visit, 2023
“The Artwork of Denver’s Tony Ortega Is a Confluence of His Mexican Heritage and American Identity,” Colorado Matters, Colorado Public Radio, 2017
“Portrait of the Artist: Tony Ortega,” The American Scholar, 2017
“Tony Ortega: Artist of the People,” Regis University Libraries, 2008
SELECTED COLLECTIONS & INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION SELECTED COLLECTIONS & INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
Represented in the U.S. Department of State Art in Embassies Program.
CURATORIAL PROJECTS & EXHIBITION DEVELOPMENT
Independent & Museum Curatorial Projects
2024
Nepantla, Fort Collins Museum of Art, Fort Collins, Colorado. Curator and exhibiting artist.
2014
Hybridity, Sangre de Cristo Arts & Conference Center, Pueblo, Colorado, April 12–May 24. Curator and exhibiting artist. Invited to organize the exhibition and select participating artists.
2010
Raíces y Ramas / Roots and Branches, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, Arvada, Colorado, September 16–November 14. Curator and exhibiting artist. Invited by Colin Parsons to select the participating artists.
1990–1992
Los Three, Colorado, and New Mexico. Curator/organizer and exhibiting artist. Exhibition featuring Carlos Fresquez, Carlos Santistevan, and Tony Ortega. Secured grant support, organized exhibition venues and touring presentations, and coordinated production of the exhibition catalogue.
1991
Homage to Frida and Diego, Curator/organizer and exhibiting artist, The Art Department, 772 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, Colorado, May 3–24. Exhibition featuring Lucile R. Contreras, Carlos Fresquez, Ernie Gallegos, Carlos Martinez, Sylvia Montero, Tony Ortega, Meggan Rodriguez, Maruca Salazar, and Carlos Santistevan.
Regis University — Curatorial Projects
2026
Three Santeros: Carlos Santistevan, Frank Zamora, and Sean Trujillo, Dayton Memorial Library, Regis University, Denver, Colorado, February 3–27. Curator. Exhibition of contemporary santeros exploring the continuing New Mexican santo tradition. Curated in conjunction with the course New Mexico Santos Tradition.
2025
Día de Muertos, Dayton Memorial Library, Regis University, Denver, Colorado. Curator. Exhibition featuring local Chicano artists and Regis University alumni.
2016
Two Santeras: Dayton Memorial Library, Regis University, Denver, Colorado. Curator. Exhibition featuring Teresa Duran and Lynn Frésquez.