Home / Lucy + Jorge Orta

Lucy Orta was born in Sutton Coldfield, UK in 1966 and Jorge Orta was born in Rosario, Argentina in 1953. They founded Studio Orta Paris in 1991.

Lucy + Jorge Orta collaborative practice focuses on a number of sustainability issues tackling the ecological and the social factors to realise major bodies of work employing a number of mediums ranging from drawing, sculpture, installation, object making, couture, painting, silkscreen printing and Light Works, as well as staging workshops, ephemeral interventions and performances. The most emblematic series are: Refuge Wear: and Body Architecture: portable minimum habitats bridging architecture and dress; HortiRecycling: the food chain in global and local contexts; 70 x 7 The Meal: the ritual of dining and its role in community networking; The Gift: a metaphor for the heart and the biomedical ethics of organ donation; OrtaWater: the general scarcity of this vital resource and the problems arising from its pollution and corporate control; Antarctica: international human rights and freer international migration; Amazonia: the value of the natural environment to our daily lives and to our survival.

The Ortas artwork has been the focus of major solo exhibitions, including: The Curve, Barbican Art Gallery London and OrtaWater, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa Venice (2005), Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Rotterdam (2006), and Galleria Continua Beijing / San Gimignano / Le Moulin (20078); Antarctica, Biennial of the End of the World, Ushuaia, Antarctic Peninsula (2007), and Hangar Bicocca spazio darte Milan (2008); Amazonia, Natural History Museum London (2010). In 2007, the artists received the Green Leaf Award for artistic excellence with an environmental message, presented by the United Nations Environment Programme in partnership with the Natural World Museum at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway.

Parallel and feeding into their practice Lucy + Jorge Orta are developing a cultural heritage regeneration program along the Grand Morin river, Marne-la-Vallée in the former industrial sites of La Laiterie (Dairy) since 2000, the Moulin de Boissy and the Moulin Sainte-Marie, two historical paper mills, since 2007 and 2009, respectively. They have relocated their studios from Paris and have founded Les Moulins, a non-profit research centre for interdisciplinary workshops and residencies to promote the creation and presentation of experimental in-situ artworks.

This website will provide you with an overview of the activities of this prolific team, the current exhibitions and public and private commissions; the artworks and limited editions.

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Exhibitions

- 2011
- Amazonia
- venue: Motive Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland
- type: Solo Exhibition
- site: http://www.motivegallery.nl/?page_id=6019
- Architectures/Dessins/Utopies. Works from the Centre National Des Arts Plastiques, Paris
- venue: Mnac, Bucharest, Romania
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Ruxandra Balaci
- site: http://www.mnac.ro
- Somewhere Else / Ailleurs
- venue: Espace culturel Louis Vuitton, Paris, France
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Paul Ardenne
- site: www.louisvuitton.com/espaceculturel
- Spaceship Earth
- venue: Centre of Contemporary Art Znaki Czasu, Torun, Poland
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Dobrilla Denegri
- site: http://csw.torun.pl
- Auf die Plätze - A vos marches
- venue: Stiftung Deutsches Hygiene Museum, Dresden, Germany
- type: Group Exhibition
- site: http://www.dhmd.de/neu/
- Unfold
- venue: Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago, Chicago, USA
- type: Group Exhibition
- site: http://www.mocp.org
- Our House in the Middle of Our Street
- venue: Maison des Arts de Malakoff , Malakoff , France
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Jeanne Susplugas
- site: http://maisondesarts.malakoff.fr
- CHEMISTRY Creating new Worlds
- venue: Biennale Kijkduin 2011, The Hague, The Netherlands
- type: Group Exhibition
- site: www.biennalekijkduin.nl
- LIVING Frontiers of Architecture III and IV
- venue: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark
- type: Group Exhibition
- site: http://www.louisiana.dk/uk/Menu/Exhibitions/Upcoming+exhibitions+2011
- 70 x 7 The Meal act XXXII
- venue: MAXXI, Rome, Italy
- type: Event, curator: Bartolomeo Pietromarchi
- site: http://www.fondazionemaxxi.it/
- You are not Alone
- venue: Fundacion Joan Miro , Barcelona, Spain
- type: Group Exhibition
- site: http://www.fundaciomiro-bcn.org/exposicio.php?idioma=4&exposicio=3579&titulo=You%20are%20not%20alone
- 70 x 7 The Meal act XXVI, ArtAids Foundation
- venue: Fundació Joan Miró , Barcelona, Spain
- type: Event, curator: ArtAids Foundation
- site: http://www.fundaciomiro-bcn.org/
- Unfold
- venue: The Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons, New York, USA
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: David Buckland and Chris Wainwright
- site: http://www.capefarewell.com
- 2010-2011
- Amazonia
- venue: Natural History Museum, London, UK
- type: Solo exhibition, curator: Bergit Arends
- site: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/natureplus/blogs/whats-new/2010/09/30/amazonia-its-art?fromGateway=true
- 2010
- Wijheizij - Milk
- venue: Permekemuseum, Jabbeke, Belgium
- type: Solo Exhibition - New Commission, curator: Edith Doove
- site: www.vredeseilanden.be http://edprojects.wordpress.com/
- A New Stance For Tomorrow: Part 3
- venue: Sketch, London, UK
- type: Group Show
- site: http://www.sketch.uk.com
- UNFOLD
- venue: The Universitaet fur Angewandte Kunst, Vienna, Austria
- type: Group Show, curator: Capefarewell
- site: http://www.capefarewell.com
- Weiss (Ice-White)
- venue: Kunstverein, Untergröningen, Germany
- type: Group Show, curator: Otto Rothfuss
- site: http://www.kiss-untergroeningen.de/
- L'été des arts. Festival international d'arts visuels
- venue: Montbard, Montbard, France
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Jean Voguet
- site: http://auxois.arts.free.fr/
- Climate Capsules: Means of Surviving Disaster
- venue: Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe , Hamburg, Germany
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Friedrich von Borries
- site: http://www.mkg-hamburg.de/
- Art et Changement Climatique
- venue: EPCC-Le Quai, Angers, France
- type: Group Exhibition - Performace, curator: Lauranne Germond
- site: http://www.lequai-angers.eu/en
- Light Works | Lucy + Jorge Orta
- venue: Black Dog Space, London, UK
- type: Solo Exhibition
- site: http://blackdogonline.com
- ICONS. A silent auction of contemporary art in aid of St. Joseph's Hospice
- venue: St-Botolph-without-Aldgate, London, UK
- type: Group exhibition
- Adelaide International 2010: Apart, we are together
- venue: JamFactory, centre for Contemporary Craft and Design, Adelaide, Australia
- type: Solo Exhibition, curator: Victoria Lynn
- site: http://www.adelaidefestival.com.au
- 2009-2010
- (Un)Inhabitable? Art of Extreme Environments - Festival @rt Outsiders 2009
- venue: Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France
- type: Group Exhibition + Performance, curator: Jean-Luc Soret and Annick Bureaud
- site: http://www.art-outsiders.com
- Esthétique des pôles ou le testament des glaces
- venue: FRAC Lorraine, Metz, France
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Beatrice Josse
- site: http://collection.fraclorraine.org/
- The Gift
- venue: Jam Factory Adelaide International, Adelaide, Australia
- type: Solo Exhibition, curator: Victoria Lynn
- site: http://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/servlet/Web?s=2290869&p=AF_Events_VisualArts
- GSK Contemporary - Earth
- venue: Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: David Buckland
- site: http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/gsk-contemporary-season-2009/?type=past
- 2009
- Green Platform. Art, Ecology, Sustainability
- venue: Palazzo Strozzi, Centro di Cultura Contemporanea Strozzina, Florence, Italy
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Valentina Gensini, Lorenzo Giusti
- site: http://www.strozzina.org/e_index.htm
- Dress Code
- venue: Iselp, Brussels, Belgium
- type: Group Exhibition
- site: http://www.iselp.be/exposition/grande%20salle/avenir.html
- Pot Luck
- venue: The New Art Gallery, Walsall, UK
- type: Group Touring Exhibition, curator: Cynthia Morrison-Bell and Anthony Key
- site: http://www.art-circuit.org.uk/exhibitions/Soon.html
- Intemperie. Fenomenos Esteticos da Mundaca Climatica e da Antartida
- venue: Centro Cultural OI Futuro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Alfons Hug and Alberto Saraiva
- site: www.oifuturo.org.br
- Sur Polar. Arte en Antartida
- venue: Mutec / Museo Tecnologico, Mexico City, Mexico
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Andrea Juan
- Return to Function
- venue: Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, USA
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Jane Simon
- site: http://www.mmoca.org/exhibitions/exhibitdetails/returntofunction/index.php
- OrtaWater
- venue: Vienna Art Fair - Motive Gallery - A 0901 , Vienna, Austria
- type: Installation, curator: Motive Gallery
- site: http://motivegallery.nl
- OrtaWater
- venue: DSM, Heerlen and Sittard, Holland
- type: Solo Exhibition, curator: DSM
- site: http://www.dsm.com/en_US/html/home/dsm_home.cgi
- Frozen Time
- venue: Stadtgalerie Kiel, Kiel, Germany
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Alfons Hug (director of the Goethe-Institut, Rio de Janeiro) and Alberto Saraiva (curator at the Centro Cultural Oi Futuro, Rio de Janeiro)
- site: www.stadtgalerie-kiel.de
- HEAVEN, 2nd Athens Biennale 2009 - Live
- venue: Flisvos Building & P. Faliro Beach, Athens, Greece
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Dimitris Papaioannou and Ζafos Xagoraris
- site: http://www.athensbiennial.org
- Retreat
- venue: KunstFort Asperen, Acquoy, Holland
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos
- site: www.kunstfortasperen.nl
- Off the Beaten Path
- venue: The Stenersen Museum, Oslo, Norway
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Randy Jayne Rosenberg
- site: www.stenersen.museum.no; www.artworksforchange.org
- A Way Beyond Fashion
- venue: apexart, New York, USA
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Robert Punkenhofer
- site: http://apexart.org
- Antarctic Village - Nuit Blanche
- venue: FRAC Lorraine, Metz, France
- type: Group Exhibition
- Sphères
- venue: Galleria Continua / Le Moulin, Boissy-le-Châtel , France
- type: Group Exhibition
- site: http://www.galleriacontinua.com
- 70 x 7 The Meal,act XXXI
- venue: Sherwell Church Hall, North Hill , Plymouth , UK
- type: Event
- AntArctica
- venue: Haugar Vestfold Kunstmuseum, Tonsberg, Norway
- type: Group Show, curator: Tone Lyngstad Nyaas
- site: http://www.haugar.com
- The Spectacle of the Everyday - TAMA project
- venue: Xth Biennale de Lyon,Museum of Contemporary Art, Lyon, Lyon, France
- type: Group Show, curator: Gabi Scardi, Maria Papadimitriou, Lucy Orta
- site: http://www.biennaledelyon.com/contemporaryart2009/
- 2008-2009
- Life Size Utopia, Louis De Cordier, Lucy + Jorge Orta
- venue: Motive Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland
- type: Group Exhibition
- site: www.motivegallery.nl
- 2008
- Poëziezomer Watou 2008
- venue: Watou, Watou, Belgium
- type: Group Exhibition , curator: Giacinto Di Pietrantonio
- site: http://www.poeziezomerswatou.be
- Water and our future 1%
- venue: Z33, Hasselt, Belgium
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Ilse Crawford and Jane Withers
- site: http://onepercentwater.org
- Body Architecture
- venue: The Swedish Museum of Architecture, Stockholm, Sweden
- type: Solo Exhibition
- site: www.arkitekturmuseet.se
- Antarctica
- venue: Galleria Continua / Le Moulin, Boissy Le Chatel, France
- type: Solo Exhibition
- site: http://www.galleriacontinua.com/english/le-moulin-20080628-2.html
- 70 x 7 The Meal act XXIX
- venue: Venaria Reale, Turin, Italy
- type: Event, curator: Maria Perosino and Bartolomeo Pietromarchi
- Antarctica
- venue: Hangar Bicocca spazio d'arte, Milan, Italy
- type: Solo Exhibition, curator: Bartolomeo Pietromarchi
- site: http://www.hangarbicocca.it/
- Antarctic Village - Works in Progress
- venue: Motive Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland
- type: Solo Exhibition
- site: http://motivegallery.nl
- OrtaWater
- venue: Austrian Pavilion International Expo, Zaragoza, Spain
- type: Solo Exhibition, curator: Robert Punkenhofer
- site: http://www.expoaustria.at
- 70 x 7 The Meal act XXVIII
- venue: Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, Monaco, France
- type: Event, curator: Randy Rosenburg
- Totipotent Architecture - Skin Deep
- venue: Fort Asperen, Leerdam, Holland
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Arnoud Odding and Tiziana Nespoli
- site: http://www.fortasperen.nl
- Shelter / Survival - alternative homes for fantastic lives
- venue: Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima, Japan
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Takeshi Matsuoka
- site: http://www.hcmca.cf.city.hiroshima.jp/web/main_e/menupage.html
- Antarctic Village - 13:3
- venue: Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, Holland
- type: Solo Exhibition
- site: http://www.friesmuseum.nl/
- Sur Polar, Arte en Antártida
- venue: MUNTREF Museo Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Andrea Juan
- site: http://www.untref.edu.ar/index_page.htm
- 2007
- Antarctic Village
- venue: Antarctic Marambio Base, Antarctica
- type: Ephemeral Installation, curator: Biennale al Fin del Mundo, Ushuaia
- site: http://www.bienalfindelmundo.com/eng/index.html
- Antarctic Village - No Borders
- venue: Galeria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy
- type: Solo Exhibition with Jorge Orta
- site: http://www.galleriacontinua.com/italiano/opere.html?id_artista=15
- Urban Life Guard
- venue: Galleria Continua / Le Moulin, Boissy-le-Châtel, France
- type: Group Exhibition
- site: http://www.galleriacontinua.com/english/le-moulin.html
- The Politics of Fear
- venue: Albion, London, UK
- type: Group Exhibition
- site: http://www.albion-gallery.com/
- Antarctic Village - No Borders
- venue: 1st End of the World Biennial, Ushuaia City, Argentina
- type: Contemporary Art Biennial
- site: www.bienalfindelmundo.com
- OrtaWater 06 - Envisioning Change
- venue: Nobel Peace Center, Oslo, Norway
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Randy Rosenberg, Natural World Museum
- site: http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=199908
- OrtaWater 06 - Environmental Renaissance
- venue: City Hall, San Francisco, USA
- type: Group Exhibition, curator: Randy Rosenberg, Natural World Museum
- site: http://www.artintoaction.org/exhibitions.html
- Fallujah - works in progress
- venue: Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich, Switzerland
- type: Solo Exhibition
- site: www.peterkilchmann.com
- Fallujah
- venue: Institute of Contemporary Art offsite Old Truman Brewery, London, UK
- type: Solo Exhibition. Theatre collaboration with Jonathan Holmes, Director
- site: http://www.studio-orta.com/news.php
- 70 x 7 The Meal, act XXVII
- venue: Albion Gallery, London, UK
- type: Performance
- site: http://www.albion-gallery.com/
- Fallujah - Auszug 01
- venue: Context Festival, Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin, Germany
- type: Collaboration with Jonathan Holmes, Performance and Installation
- site: http://www.hebbel-am-ufer.de/archiv_de/kuenstler/kuenstler_8411.html
- OrtaWater 05 - Dans ces eaux là...
- venue: Chateau d'Avignon, Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, France
- type: Group Exhibition with Jorge Orta
- site: http://www.cg13.fr/modes-de-vie/culture/chateau-avignon.html
- Fallujah, Casey's Pawns
- venue: 11th Prague Quadrennial of Performance and Theatre, Prague, Czech Republic
- type: Public Intervention, curator: Sodja Lotker
- site: http://www.pq.cz/en/
- Fallujah
- venue: Motive Gallery Berlin Art Fair, Berlin, Germany
- type: Solo Exhibition with Jorge Orta
- site: http://www.motivegallery.nl/index.php?pageid=13
- 2006
- 70 x 7 The Meal, act XXV
- venue: Open House, Casa Argentina, London, U.K.
- type: Solo exhibition
- OrtaWater07
- venue: Galleria Continua Beijing, Beijing, China
- type: Solo Exhibition
- site: ww.galleriacontinua.com
- Selected Works: Lucy + Jorge Orta
- venue: Motive Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- type: Solo Exhibition
- site: www.motivegallery.nl
- 2005
- Drink Water !
- venue: Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Venice Biennale, Italy
- type: Solo Exhibition, curator: Gabi Scardi / Angela Vetesse
- Water & Works
- venue: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Holland
- type: Solo Exhibition, curator: Bregje Van Woensel / Annemartine Van Kesteren
- site: http://www.boijmans.nl/en/
- 70x7 The Meal act XXII
- venue: Z33, Hasselt, Belgium
- type: Event
- 70 x 7 The Meal act XXI
- venue: Plein Museum, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Holland
- type: Event with Lucy Orta, curator: Meta knol
- 2003
- 70 x 7 The Meal act XX
- venue: UNESCO, Paris, France
- type: Event with Jorge Orta
- 2002
- 70 x 7 The Meal act XIX
- venue: Design Academy Eindhoven, Eindhoven, Holland
- type: Event, curator: Li Edelkoort
- 70 x 7 The Meal act XVII (Enactments of the Self)
- venue: Sterischer Herbst, Graz, Austria
- type: Event, curator: Maia Damianovic
- Borderline
- venue: Compagnie Blanca Li/Maison des Arts de Créteil, Créteil, France
- type: Performance with Blanca Li, curator: Berlin Ballet, Komische Oper
- 70x7 The Meal act XVI Waltherplatz
- venue: Ar/ge Kunst Museum Gallery, Bolzano, Italy
- type: Event, curator: Maia Damianovic
- Borderline
- venue: Berlin Ballet/Komisch Opera, Berlin, Germany
- type: Collaboration with Blanca Li & Lucy Orta
- 70 x 7 The Meal act XVII
- venue: Rio Garonne, Toulouse, France
- type: Event with Lucy Orta
- 2001
- 70 x 7 The Meal act X (Active Ingredients)
- venue: The American center for food wine & the arts, Napa Valley, USA
- type: Event, curator: Margaret Miller / Amy Capellazo
- 70 x 7 The Meal act XI (They say this is the Place)
- venue: Provinciebesturr van Antwerpen, Belgium
- type: Performance Event, curator: Edith Doove
- site: http://www.studio-orta.com/limited_edition_fiche.php?of=10
- 70x7 The Meal act XII
- venue: Picnic installation 1500m, Amiens, France
- type: Performance Event
- 70 x 7 The Meal, act XIII
- venue: FirstSite Gallery, Colchester, UK
- type: Performance event, curator: Gabriella Salgado
- site: http://www.studio-orta.com/limited_edition_fiche.php?of=9
- 70 x 7 The Meal, act IX (Opera.tion Life Nexus)
- venue: Museum für Angewandte Kunst Köln, Cologne, Germany
- type: Performance Event
- 70x7 The Meal act V-VII
- venue: Casa de Francia / Museo Diego Rivero Museum / Couvent de la Mercedes, Mexico City, Mexico
- type: Performance Event
- 2000
- The Dairy
- venue: The Dairy, Saint Siméon, France
- type: Purchase of the first modern dairy, found Studio Orta production studios
- 70 x 7 The Meal act III (The Invisible Touch)
- venue: Kunstraum Innsbruck, Austria
- type: Solo event, curator: Maia Damianovic
- site: http://www.studio-orta.com/limited_edition_fiche.php?of=15
- 70 x 7 The Meal act IV
- venue: Town of Dieuze, France
- type: Performance Event
- 1992
- Studio Orta
- venue: 13 rue Keller, Paris, France
- type: Establish Studio Orta

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