Author: Fara

The pieces of the exhibition are a selection of de la Garza’s production over the last 4 years. It encompasses his exploration with different topics such as commentary on organized religion, sexual philias, and his interest for portraiture.
 
de la Garza continued his investigation and commentary on the Catholic Church after graduating with double major from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) in 2009. While at MIAD, de la Garza’s Communication Design thesis was an interactive/informative exhibition about unusual/covered facts about the religious institution. His painting thesis at MIAD titled ‘Amexica’ was an exploration of cultural identity with the use of popular imagery/characters from the United States and Mexico. Both of his theses were acclaimed by his professors at MIAD, and ‘Amexica’ was selected as ‘best of show’ from the Thesis Exhibition in May of 2009. Commentary on social and political issues had played an important role on de la Garza’s artistic production.
 
In 2011 de la Garza started his graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, where he earned his Master in Fine Arts degree in 2013. While at Penn, de la Garza addressed issues in his work ranging from stereotypes of ethnic and sexual minorities to gun violence in his native Mexico.“Through the kinds of research and reading that is encouraged in an interdisciplinary art program, Orlando’s work began to expand both in terms of the media – with excursions into performance, photography and video – but also with more nuanced approaches to his subject. In his most recent body of work, the more illustrational and literal imagery has morphed into juicily painted and sexually raucous conflations of desserts and genitalia, a sort of Queer Cupcake Porn, deliciously rendered…“
       ­–Jackie Tileston.     Associate Professor in Fine Arts, University of Pennsylvania.
de la Garza currently resides in San Francisco California and continues producing work. His latest pieces demonstrate, although carefully executed paintings, a much more loose application noted in his visible brushstrokes and texture. Such quality started to emerge from his previous body of work depicting genitalia and gastronomy.