Meet The Multi-Talented Visual Artist Celestino “Junior” Ortiz

Born in San Juan Puerto Rico, Celestino Ortiz is an accomplished artist with an inclination towards the ‘Abstract Expressionist‘ movement. He also creates unique portraits that can be classified within the Pop Art genre. Under the guidance and mentorship of contemporary master artists Carmelo Sobrino and Noemi Ruiz, Celestino reaffirms his passion for the arts after having achieved great professional success within the communications industry.

In addition to being a successful artist, Celestino is an academic professor with an extensive career in the field of communications technology. Specializing in TV Radio Production, Video and Cinematography, Celestino has been a professor at CCAT – College of Cinematographic, Art and Television in Miami since 2016, a TV-Host and Co-Producer of Estudio Celestino TV Show for TIVA TV and currently hosts a popular video podcast Rock Show. He received a Master of Arts (MA) in Museology/Museum Studies from Caribbean University-Bayamon in Puerto Rico.

When it comes to his art, Celestino’s pure and authentically creative impulses lead him through various mediums seeking his identity. Showing great interest in abstract-expressionism, one can distinguish traits and strokes resembling Olga Albizu and Guztav Klimt. Breaking away from accepted conventions in both technique and subject matter, Celestino creates work that stands as a reflection of his individual psyche—and in doing so, attempts to tap into universal inner sources. His work resists stylistic categorization, but it can be clustered around two basic inclinations: an emphasis on dynamic, energetic gesture, in contrast to a reflective, cerebral focus on more open fields of color. In either case, the imagery is primarily abstract.

Celestino carries a genuine desire to communicate, and his chromatic palette is not far from the Caribbean culture that inspired the works in his Energy Fields and Fuerza Natura series’. The complexity and gestures within these bodies of work resonate passionately using bold reds, oranges, blues and green, yellow hues. Celestino recently started working on a new series that evolved from his past style into a more esoteric aesthetic.

The pop art portraits Celestino creates are eye-catching and colorful. Always striving for straightforwardness in his portrait paintings, Celestino uses bold swaths of primary colors with an innate ability to capture the true essence of his subject matter.

Celestino’s paintings create a triangular discourse that the viewer and the artist share in a lyrical harmony. He has held many exhibitions over the course of his career, some of which include the Museo del Barrio and the Whitney Biennal 2017 at Whitney Museum of American Art, and notable art fairs such as Red Dot Miami with Contemporary Art Projects USA during Art Basel Miami Beach.

He is represented by A. Cueto Gallery and Pamil Fine Art. Future shows include the Museo de Carolina this coming June, and an exhibition during Art Basel Miami Week with Contemporary Art Projects USA in December 2020.

Celestino recently had his work showcased during New York Fashion Week in February 2020 “Art Runway“. The artist was selected to participate in a unique charity event for Hope Latino Fashion Week celebrating Art, Fashion & Music benefiting the Fashion is Hope foundation and Alejandra Avendaño, which aid children with cancers in Venezuela, along with Columbia University’s cancer research and the relief efforts for the earthquake victims in Puerto Rico. Hope Latino Fashion Week presents the work of talented artists from Latin American countries within the fashion, art and music industries, both nationally and internationally.

We recently had the pleasure to chat with Celestino to learn more about his art career and current projects:

Q – What is the best part about being an artist, and how did you get started on this path?

A – The best part about being an artist is how you can communicate feelings, emotions, and thoughts without even speaking a word. I felt like an artist since I was a kid.

Q – Where does your inspiration come from?

A – It comes from many ways. From a movie, a book (I’m reading a lot), a song. But especially it comes from my experiences.


Q – You have a very unique style of work, can you tell us about your creative process?

A – I like to improve and experiment with new products and styles and ways to get new textures, shapes and colors to my palette.

Q – Is there an artist (past or present) who you admire most, or who may have influenced your style?

A – Well, I like to read biographies. And I studied the creativity process of a lot of artists. The period of the abstract expressionists and the pop art movement influenced me a lot. But I think my art is a mix of all the artists: Newman, Basquiat, Warhol, Pollock, De Kooning, Rothko, Kline, Olga Albizu, Noemi Ruiz, Rafael Rivera Rosa, etc.


Q –  You began producing a fresh series of paintings and you seem to be going in an exciting new direction as a creator, can you tell us more about your recent work?

A – After the passing of my parents, my imagination flew to have some conversations with them. Happened to me in dreams. So Dialogues in the space or Conversations with the energy are about that.

Q – You’ve worked on so many amazing projects, such as Hope Latino Fashion Week which just took place recently in New York, what was that like?

A – It was a good opportunity that exposed me to the fashion world in New York.


Q – We would love to hear more about the online Rock Show that you host, can you tell us more about it?

A – Oh… I’ve been a radio host for more than 30 years. And I believe the podcasts are here to stay. It’s a good alternative to stay in touch with your audience or to develop new ones. I interview artists, singers, and unique people who have something interesting and intelligent to share.

To learn more about this fascinating artist, for sales, commissions, general inquires or future show information, email celestinoart@gmail.com and visit  https://www.instagram.com/celestinovisualartist/