Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz: Quiero Ir pa’l monte (I want to go to the mountains)

Lecture and Reception

Oct 29, 2024, 5:30-6:30 (Wilson Hall's Concert Hall)

October 28-December 13, 2024

About The Exhibition

Quiero Ir pa'l monte means "I want to go to the mountains," which describes Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz's recent journey to her ancestral homeland. As a stateside-raised Diaspo-Rican, the trip revealed a desire to know the island more intimately. Inspired by winding countryside road trips with her sister as her tour guide, Raimundi-Ortiz creates large-scale charcoal and pastel studies of plants and trees adapted from photos she took during the trip. Through the physicality of marking and erasing, her work involves a process of actively learning the curves and textures of Puerto Rico. The work threads together the narratives of joy, sanctuary, returning home, and learning about the land of her mother to pass on that knowledge and heritage to her son. Ultimately, her pieces strive to bridge the gap, both tangible and generational, between mother and son. Quiero Ir pa'l monte (I want to go to the mountains) is co-curated by Andrea Lepage, Pamela H. Simpson Professor of Art History, and Kevin McNamee-Tweed.

Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz is an interdisciplinary visual artist whose work pulls from 17th and 18th-century European portraiture, comic books, sketch comedy, folkloric dance, and installation to address race, bias, trauma, and healing. Her work has been featured in venues such as The Momentary, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Museum of Arts and Design, Garage Museum Moscow, Orlando Museum of Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Gyeongnam Art Museum, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico; and at the Manifesta and Performa biennials.