This June, Cochiti Pueblo artist Virgil Ortiz, in collaboration with Eric F. Gracia, opened his latest immersive exhibition blending ceramics, fashion and video installation. The exhibition also breaks the laws of physics, allowing visitors to explore the past, present and future.
Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo), The Dogs of War, 2026, still image from Blindfall | First Strike. © Virgil Ortiz
Continuum: Blindfall, First Strike at the New Mexico Museum of Art’s Vladem Contemporary is part of a larger story Ortiz has been crafting for decades titled Revolt 1680/2180. Ortiz reimagines the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 through an Indigenous futurist lens—treating the revolution not like a fixed moment in the past, but as a living force of resistance that bridges history and the future.
“Starting 24 years ago, I’ve been developing a film script about the Pueblo Revolt happening simultaneously in 1680 and 2180, in two different time dimensions,” says Ortiz. “That allows me to world-build within the future and the past, and of course, the present.”
That world comes populated with a full cast of characters. Much of Ortiz’s work centers around Po’pay, the Tewa leader who united pueblo communities in resistance against Spanish occupation. Po’pay is the Architect of Sovereignty in Ortiz’s world.
Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo), Storm Sentinel — The Blind Archer finds her mark, 2025, glazed raku ceramic, ed. 3 of 7. © Virgil Ortiz
Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo), Guardians of the Continuum: Bu’nami, Recon Watchman and Dya, Aeronaut, 2026, still image from Blindfall | First Strike. © Virgil Ortiz
In the Continuum exhibition, his work Po’pay 2180 — beneath the storms of Blindfall, is a glazed raku ceramic bust of the revolt leader. His face tells the story of continued struggle and endurance as it depicts Po’pay in 2180 with streaked blue glaze running down his face, representing the torrential rains at Blindfall as he stands in the center of the storm as floodwaters rise and the enemy fractures.
Working with his collaborator, Garcia—who has Spanish, Mexican and Native American heritage—Ortiz explores another cast of characters—the Castilians, who represent the Spanish. Garcia adds a nostalgic perspective to the work through incorporating Spanish religious icons that complement Ortiz’s world-building.
“I’ve invited Eric Garcia, and we’ve known each other for over 30 years, and he’s of Spanish descent, and his ideas are coming from a real Spanish blood,” says Ortiz. “[Continuum] is a perfect marriage, again to be able to discuss our history, show the world that friendships can be kept that long, coming from the blood that we’re from.”
Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo), Po’pay 2180 — beneath the storms of Blindfall, 2026, glazed raku ceramic, ed. 3 of 7. © Virgil Ortiz
“This is exactly the prayer—to expose the truth, and you are no longer blind when you get through your fear. People are scared to see our history. That’s why it’s been swept under the carpet: ‘You can’t see those. Let’s not teach it. Try to rewrite history.’ But my job is to expose history, let the world know and acknowledge the pueblo people who are living, creating and thriving and it was the perfect opportunity to do that,” Ortiz reflects.
Education is at the heart of Ortiz’s work. As he continues to tell the story of Revolt 1680/2180, he upholds the history of the pueblo people and welcomes viewers to learn from the past and view the future through a Native perspective.
Continuum: Blindfall, First Strike runs through October 18 at the New Mexico Museum of Art’s Vladem Contemporary. —
Through October 18, 2026
Continuum: Blindfall, First Strike
Vladem Contemporary
404 Montezuma Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 476-5062
www.nmartmuseum.org
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