Studio Orta

The exhibition Potential Architecture condenses some of the key concepts on which Lucy + Jorge Orta have focused their research over the last three decades. In particular, the potential of new forms of dwelling and ways of living in relationship with our identity, the environment, frontiers, and cross border migration.

The body of works presented by SPARC, includes a series of large format drawings and collage, architectural models in light-steel and hand-blown glass and key work from the Antarctica project, a tent dwelling appliquéd with clothes, gloves and silkscreen printed world flags that addresses international human rights and the value of the natural environment to our daily lives and to our survival. Architecture has a key role in shaping the artists’ practice and concepts, through which it is possible to imagine the cohabitation of humans and non-humans today and for the future.

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Âmes vertes —Green Souls— is an exhibition curated by French historian Paul Ardenne at Friche de la Belle de Mai in Marseille from 8 February to 1 June 2025. This exhibition invites audiences to reflect on their relationship with the living world through artworks that strive for ecological moderation and shape new ecosophical models.

A highlight of the exhibition is Symphony for Absent Wildlife (2014-2020). This immersive installation features a life-size orchestra dressed in felt top and tails, wearing masks of creatures once abundant on the Albertan plains of Canada. Bison, moose, wapiti, wolves, grizzly bears, mountain goats, beavers, and eagles have been pushed to near extinction by exploitative human practices. The costumed orchestra, video, and soundscape create a fully immersive environment, evoking the loss of cultural heritage and endangered ecosystems.

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What happens when we not only accept the walls around us as a given, but consciously perceive, conquer, and shape them?

This question will be explored through the pioneering BODY ARCHITECTURE works by Lucy Orta, presented in the exhibition My Room More than 4 Walls at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Junge Kunsthalle from 1 February to 21 September 2025. Young audiences will be invited to interact with the arm, hood, or leg appendages of the sculpture, exploring ways in which dwelling spaces are constructed emotionally, intellectually, socially, and spiritually.

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Meteoros refers to the ancient Greek word meaning “high in the air.” Clouds also evoke the cycles of water, exploring its scarcity and abundance, a theme we have been investigating through the long-term project OrtaWater since 2005. In this work, clouds carry life-size figures on an imaginary journey through the skies. METEOROS (2015) is presented in a new installation at The Hyundai Daegu in South Korea from 2 January to 31 May 2025. Visitors will experience the work up close, where mirror plinths create the impression of clouds floating in space, challenging ways in which sculpture engages with everyday life.

We are thrilled to share the trailer for the feature film SEED, directed by David Bickerstaff, set to premiere at film festivals soon.

Jorge Orta, who endured the brutal military regime that terrorized Argentina between 1974-1983, revisits his past in this poignant film. During this ‘Dirty War,’ suspected communists, artists, intellectuals, and writers were detained, tortured, and raped under a state-sponsored campaign of eradication. In response, Jorge created many performances and artworks that could not be revealed at the time.

Decades later, Jorge embarks on a journey from the spectacular deserts of Central America to the streets of Buenos Aires, recalling the corruption and performing acts of protest and resistance. Using non-actors and minimal dialogue, this film is a poetic exploration of one man’s journey through an epic landscape, reflecting on the loss of innocence, oppressive states, and human cruelty.

Pour le 60e October Salon, Lucy + Jorge Orta ont mis en scène l'acte 47 de 70 x 7 The Meal. Dans le cadre de « Trace », sous le commissariat de Lorenzo Balbi et Dobrila Denegri, cette commande inaugurale de la biennale a été conçue comme une proposition collective visant à créer un dialogue entre les artistes, la scène culturelle de la ville et les structures qui déterminent la politique culturelle au niveau local et national.

Le 18 octobre 2024, deux cents invités se sont réunis autour d'une table installée devant le Centre culturel de Belgrade pour discuter de questions élaborées en conversation avec des artistes serbes et des travailleurs du secteur culturel. Les quatre thématiques abordées portaient sur les conditions dans lesquelles les artistes travaillent, le rôle de l'artiste dans la société d'aujourd'hui, les besoins des organisations culturelles et la manière dont les politiques nationales affectent les pratiques culturelles. Pour faciliter le dialogue, les invités avaient à leur disposition des "provocations" imprimées sur les chemins de table et brodées sur les serviettes de table, formant un manifeste collectif qui s'est développé au fil des interactions pendant le repas.
Selon Dobrila Denegri, cet « acte performatif collectif est une forme de protestation pacifique, [...] s'asseoir à la même table, partager le pain et la nourriture peut être un moyen d'attirer l'attention sur certains des problèmes brûlants auxquels sont confrontés les artistes et les travailleurs culturels dans notre pays ».

Pour plus d'informations, vous pouvez télécharger le communiqué de presse d'October Salon Serbe | Anglais.

Nous tenons à remercier tout particulièrement le chef Vladimir Zoplet et le collectif de broderie NEpraktične žeNE.

My centre everywhere, the special project for Moderne Art Fair as artistes invités, is inspired by the poem ‘Amazonia’ written by British eco-poet Mario Petrucci and based on video footage recorded by Lucy and Jorge in the Amazon rainforest. Commencing in the Andes where mountain glaciers are melting at a faster rate than ever recorded and descending to the Amazon river basin where mercury mining is devasting the river’s ecological balance, Petrucci reconstructs the artists’ expedition through the positionality of Gaia, and Man, a dichotomy between the ecologically-centred thinking and Progress.

The installation comprised of a range of different artworks from the artists’ Amazonia series, forming a interrelated microcosm of mediums and formats that reflect the imaginary and complexity of our natural world. We see trees, plants, flowers, insects, birds rendered in drawing, painting, crafted in textiles, embroidered, and sculpted. The artworks are a compilation of visual and sensory data collected and transcribed from regions of the world the artists have visited, indicative of the interwoven nature of biodiversity they observe first-hand. Further information in the catalogue.

My centre everywhere was made possible thanks to Hum media, with special thanks to Frederick Moraux and Flavie Durand-Ruel.

For the Jing’an International Sculpture Project 2024 curated by UCCA Lab, Lucy + Jorge Orta presented Genius Loci —a new commission in the Genius Loci series, representing the ‘spirit of the place’ traversing time, past, present, future, shaping cultural, social and ecological transitions.

Pour les Jeux Olympiques et Paralympiques 2024, et sous la direction artistique de COAL, Plaine commune propose le parcours artistique Les Victoires, composé de 6 oeuvres monumentales le long des berges réaménagées du Canal Saint-Denis.

Dans la série Genius Loci, Lucy + Jorge Orta présentent "L'envol", une sculpture en bronze d'un enfant grandeur nature tenant dans sa main un oiseau. Placée sur la passerelle surplombant le canal Saint-Denis et le stade olympique, cette figure universelle symbolise le lien entre les générations, une image dynamique et poétique de renouveau d'un quartier en devenir, au cœur des transitions urbaines et écologiques. Elle nous montre le chemin à parcourir et l’avenir avec toute la ferveur de la jeunesse.

Un projet en collaboration avec COAL et en partenariat avec les villes de Saint-Denis, Aubervilliers et Paris.

Pour célébrer ses 15 ans, COAL, association de référence pour l'art et l'écologie, présente une grande exposition pluridisciplinaire curatée par Lauranne Germond et Sara Dufour, mettant en lumière près de 50 artistes représentant la richesse et la variété des approches de la scène artistique de l'écologie.

Pour cette occasion, un groupe de dix "Procession Banners 1918-2018" co-créées avec des détenues de la prison HMP Downview de Londres est présenté pour la première fois en France. Ces oeuvres commémorent les succès de la lutte collective pour la construction d'un avenir commun, à l'occasion du centenaire du mouvement des suffragettes, ces Britanniques qui se sont battues pour arracher le droit de vote des femmes à l'aube du xxe siècle. On peut y voir des slogans libératoires en mémoire des 1 000 femmes qui furent emprisonnées cent ans plus tôt, dans ce même lieu, parce qu'elles luttaient pour leurs droits. Côte à côte, ces banderoles forment une clameur qui résonne à travers les âges et nous parvient aujourd'hui, empreinte de ferveur éco-féministe, comme un appel à l'action pour nos droits climatiques.

For the 8th Beaufort Triennial curated by Els Wuyts, Lucy + Jorge Orta have created Gazing Ball: Reflective Dialogues for the Beaufort Sculpture Park, which extends 67km along the Belgium coast.

The Gazing Ball is installed in the town of Middelkerke. Visitors are greeted by the contours of a small architecture – open and boundless –; it is an inviting artwork into which people can enter through four passage ways. In the nave of the gathering space, resembling a compass rose, is a large reflective sphere that crowns the artwork, capturing the constantly shifting play of light and shadow. As in previous Potential Architecture works by the artists, the reflections offer new perspectives on the landscape while humbly situating the viewers within their surroundings. Seated within, visitors are given a moment for contemplation, self-reflection, and to engage in conversation. It is art on a human scale.
 
‘Gazing Ball: Reflective Dialogues’ also pays homage to adjacent Radio Oostende station. Wireless telegraphy played a crucial role in ensuring safety along the Oostende-Dover route, serving as an essential connection between the shore and ships. The sculpture not only establishes a tangible connection between people, but also a symbolic connection between heaven and earth, past and present.

As part of the 2024 Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale public program, Lucy + Jorge Orta staged a sohour meal for the local community, making this the 46th activation of their ongoing participatory project 70 x 7 The Meal. 

A long table installation for 300 guests overlooked Wadi Hanifah, a seasonal river and caravan route that historically led pilgrims along the valley to the market sustaining them with food and water along the way. The menu was prepared by Chef Hissa Alhuthaili (Suhail) based on local food traditions and interventions by local Saudi artists, botanists, heritage experts, farmers punctuated the evening. The table artworks created by Lucy + Jorge specifically for the occasion included a limited edition of Royal Limoges porcelain plates and hand embroidered table centrepieces that drew attention to the natural fertility of the Wadi Hanifah and the garden city of Riyadh, faced with the encroachment of the urban development and loss of traditional knowledge. Field research on the native local species in collaboration with botanists from NCVC, and on the symbolic meaning of traditional Sadu motifs (Atharna), came together in these table artworks through a lexicon of figurative and abstract geometric shapes to share a new language of resilience.

Special thanks to the National Centre for Vegetation Cover Development & Combating Desertification (NCVC); Dr Dlayel bint Mutlaq bin Shafi Al-Qahtani (Atharna); DBF co-curators Ute Meta Bauer, Wejdan Reda, Anca Rujoiu with curatorial assistants Amina Diab, Dian Arumningtyas, Alanood A. Al-Sudairi.

After Rain, 2024 Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale under the artistic direction of Ute Meta Bauer, opens up a moment of revitalisation and renewal, as a nurturing entity, filled with life, while acknowledging the necessity of water for all forms of life that dwell and seek shelter on our planet. The biennale hosts 100 artists and researchers situating their work in a wider narrative of the coexistence of humans and non-humans. All life-forms are exposed to the effects of climate change—torrential rains, lack of rain, unpredictable rain—and its effects of forced displacement, the destruction of habitats and livelihoods, and the extinction of species. Concerns about access to clean water, food, and shelter have become the norm. The biennale amplifies the need not only to listen but also to be heard as well as the capacity to cultivate kinship are therefore essential for a liveable future.

The installation OrtaWater Purification Factory by Lucy + Jorge Orta magnifies shared concerns about access to water, as this severely impacts the habitats of humans and other life forms. The work offers a potential solution for water purification and has already proved that the most polluted rivers and canals of Venice, Shanghai, Rotterdam, Paris, and Singapore can be transformed into clean, flowing life-sources. Here at the Diriyah biennale, the sculpture-assemblage looks out of the large windows to the Wadi Hanifah, an important seasonal riverbed that extends across Diriyah, suggesting a dialogue between this unique landscape.

Special thanks to DBF co-curators Ute Meta Bauer, Wejdan Reda, Rose Lejeune, Anca Rujoiu, Ana Salazar Herrera, Rahul Gudipudi with curatorial assistants Amina Diab, Dian Arumningtyas, Alanood A. Al-Sudairi.

Lucy + Jorge Orta sont heureux de présenter une nouvelle oeuvre commanditée par Bad Ischl Salzkammergut Region - Capitale européenne de la culture 2024, pour l'exposition "Art with Salt and Water" curatée par Gottfried Hattinger à Sudhaus. OrtaWater Plätte Water Filtration Unit est constituée d'un plätte —bateau qui, historiquement, était utilisé pour transporter le sel également appelé " or blanc " sur la rivière Traun, rappelant l'aspect essentiel de l'eau dans les processus industriels— monté sur une structure en acier comprenant divers objets artisanaux provenant de la vaste collection des artistes. Cette œuvre fait partie du méta projet OrtaWater qui aborde les questions cruciales de la pénurie d'eau et de l'accès à l'eau potable.

Photo: Schiffleutmuseum, Stadl-Paura

Traces : Stories of Migration, précédement exposée à la Nunnery Gallery (Londres), rend hommage aux différentes strates historiques de l'East End à Londres. Le travail exposé au LCF East Bank, nouveau campus de l'University of the Arts London à Stratford, dans l'est de Londres, s'est déroulé dans le cadre d'un programme de deux ans d'ateliers communautaires, auxquels ont participé plus de 70 résidents locaux issus de l'immigration. Ces participants ont raconté leur parcours migratoire, décrivant la complexité de se créer un nouveau foyer dans une ville en évolution constante, fortement marquée par la mobilité. Ces récits sont illustrés dans les "Story Cloths" confectionnés par chaque participant, ainsi que dans Portrait Gallery, une nouvelle œuvre de Lucy Orta exposée dans la galerie principale de Designed for Life.

The 45th act of the artists' ongoing project, 70 x 7 The Meal, was held at Harwood House as part of The Big Harewood Garden Party on the weekend of 8-9 July 2023.

The project utilises 70 x 7 as a metaphor for meals that bring people together through the ritual of dining in uncommon settings. The symbol functions as a networking device, with each new instance creating a chain reaction of shared experiences and connections that extend beyond the individual events. 70 x 7 The Meal Act XVL on the Terrace at Harewood House draws inspiration from Lucy + Jorge Orta's 'Seed Manifesto', reflecting on the growth and life cycle of the seed. The newly commissioned Royal Limoges porcelain plates placed the seed as a central motif, while the table runner showcased images and text collected as part of the workshops led by Lucy + Jorge Orta. Art students from the University of Leeds contributed to the design of the napkins, while the menu was designed and prepared by students at Leeds City College, taking inspiration from the same theme. This table-setting became a discursive platform for diverse communities involved in the community engagement.

Réalisée en verre de Murano soufflé à la main, l'installation Seeds se compose de « semences-objets » — gousses, cosses, noyaux, têtes florales et pollens —, basés sur des spécimens réels et imaginaires. Agrandis, ils révèlent leur beauté et agissent comme une métaphore de régénération, de croissance et de résilience de la communauté. L'exposition 'Seeds' est présentée dans l'ancienne cuisine (Old Kitchen) et la salle affectée à la pâtisserie (Pastry Room), espaces qui reflètent les activités alimentaires historiques du manoir de Harewood House au XVIIIe siècle. Elle fait suite à la 45e activation de 70 x 7 The Meal, créée en collaboration avec différentes communautés de Leeds afin de mettre en avant les aspects politiques et écologiques de l'alimentation.

The Nunnery Gallery presents Lucy Orta. Traces: Stories of Migration an exploration into the diverse migration histories and stories woven into the landscape of east London. In partnership with London College of Fashion’s Making for Change as part of The Portal Centre for Social Impact, Lucy Orta engaged with eighty residents across east London over a two-year period, leading storytelling workshops and using the creative medium of textiles to develop artistic expressions through which first, second and third generation migrant histories and heritage have been honoured.  

The exhibition showcases Lucy Orta’s new body of work, Portrait Gallery created in response to the community engagement. Lucy challenges the convention of portraiture using silk organza appliqué, hand and machine embroidery and beadwork to reflect the unique characteristics of each person involved in the workshops. The Portrait Gallery exposes a myriad of trajectories, the memories accumulated as people journey from one place to another recognising each persons’ lived experience. 

Alongside Lucy’s work the exhibition presents a selection of Story Cloths made by participants. Accompanying the exhibition is a short film documenting the impact of the project and Needle Around Her Neck, a book of poetry inspired by the stories of migration written by author Nathalie Abi-Ezzi.

Downlaod the exhibition catalogue here.

On Saturday 22nd April, the Granary Square in King’s Cross will become the stage for an intuitive, culturally rooted ritual to welcome in Earth Day 2023. Set against the backdrop of the three striking 60-foot Fabulae Naturae draperies adorning the Granary Building, the performance combines costume, dance and drumming to create a visual spectacle that blurs the boundary between body and architecture where the protagonists of the spectacle are ‘The Lost Species’: species that have gone extinct or whose symbolic meanings have disappeared from our collective imagination, or those that are invisible in urban environments.
Granary Square will be filled with rhythmic drumming and performers dressed in Lucy Orta’s immense circular skirts; lavishly coloured designs that mirror the intertwining lost species depicted on the draperies. In collaboration with Alexander Whitley Dance Company and the drummer Beanie, the performers transform the skirts into billowing sails that assemble the species into a joyous ritual, bursting with energy to re-wild the square.

The Lost Species has been commissioned by King’s Cross Artist in Residence Programme 2022-2023, with the support of UAL's Climate Emergency Network and Centre for Sustainable Fashion.

Seeking Blue Gold est une nouvelle installation in situ de Lucy + Jorge Orta sous le dôme de l'Oratorio di San Filippo Neri à Bologne. Curaté par Cristina Francucci et Tatiana Basso, Seeking Blue Gold est l'un des principaux projets d'ART CITY Bologna 2023 à l'occasion d'Arte Fiera, et fait partie du programme d'art contemporain de la Fondazione del Monte di Bologna e Ravenna.

La répartition et la consommation d'eau - rebaptisée "or bleu", un terme qui a attiré l'attention du public après le film documentaire basé sur le livre de Claude Barlow (2003) - sont des thèmes centraux de la poétique des Orta, examinés à la lumière des politiques controversées et inéquitables de développement, de distribution et d'accès qui affectent cette ressource au niveau mondial. Seeking Blue Gold nous invite à prendre conscience de l'univers complexe qui entoure l'eau. Des artefacts en bois provenant du monde rural où ils sont encore utilisés pour l'irrigation traditionnelle, forment la pièce maîtresse de l'installation tripartite — montés sur des structures en acier, ils sont accompagnés d'objets provenant de la vaste collection des artistes. Les composants de cette installation se présentent comme des totems symboliques et fonctionnels exprimant l'inépuisable confrontation, parfois la dichotomie entre une image ancestrale du passé rural, liée aux rythmes naturels et l'exacerbation de l'idéal Baconien du progrès qui, enfanté par l'Occident, sévit aujourd'hui dans de nombreux pays en développement.