Bertha Otoya
b. 1979, Peru ∙ CE artist since 2007
Bertha Otoya joined the Creativity Explored studio after moving to the United States from Peru. Originally focused on textile work, Otoya used traditional Peruvian techniques to create tapestries and quilts as she enjoyed the repetitive process of sewing.
In 2009, her practice grew exponentially as her focus shifted to printmaking. Stripping her color palette to black and white (occasionally red and blue), her print work has achieved an iconic status and is avidly collected by patrons.
Using this same technique to create scrolls, the scrolls reach lengths beyond forty feet and are housed in wooden boxes adorned by the artist. The influence of her printmaking is now evident in her traditional drawing work where repeated images of fish and snakes are layered over washes of color or given alternating shades on their appendages.
Select Exhibitions & Projects
2020
Come to Your Census, YBCA, San Francisco, CA
Of Here From There | De Aquí Desde Allá, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
2019
BAVC, San Francisco, CA
2017
Black White, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2015
Here, There and Everywhere, Sheffer Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Tree of Life, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2014
Shoerageous, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
INK, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
A Curious Menagerie, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2013
Create Traveling - Museum of Art at Washington State University, Pullman, WA
San Francisco's Calacas: Day of the Dead, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2012
Create Traveling, Cantor Art Gallery, Stanford, CA
2011
Faces, Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Create, University of California Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA
4 Real 4 Faux Animating the Vernacular, Truman State University Art Gallery, Kirksville, MO
2010
Visions of Paradise, Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Sonoma, CA
Prints Byte: the cutting edge of printmaking, SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA
Santos y Otros Creatures, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Where Are We?, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Text'o & Figura, Meridian Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2009
Words, Verses and Garabatos, City College of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Introductions, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
TV and Me, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA