Itzél Rios-Ellis: Under the Orchidian Beam

The Frank-Ratchye Project Space is pleased to present Under the Orchidian Beam, a solo exhibition by Root Division Studio Artist and Education Fellow alum, Itzél Rios-Ellis.

Under the Orchidian Beam features a new body of work that delves into themes of apocalypse, gender, colonization, and ancestral lore in relation to the environment. The orchidian motif not only serves as a symbol of innocence in the midst of apocalypse, but as an emblem of the remains of the pre-colonial world. Rios-Ellis recontextualizes history to draw connections between the pillaging of orchids in Latin America by European colonizers in the 19^th century and the indigenous genocide and dispossession of land following the Mexican Revolution in the 20^th century. Orchids are sacred, weaving a common thread through lessons learned and neglected in the artist’s shared cultural history. The knight and the guerrera are idols of the artist’s Mexican-American and Irish heritage and a commentary on the shared reverence for revolution, honor, and pride between these cultures.

Rios-Ellis’ practice is deeply rooted in studying the life and loss of endemic Californian wildlife and its indigenous history to the land she loves. Under the Orchidian Beam is a showcase of work that recontextualizes cultural folklore into the artist’s own likeness, while taking the viewer to a world where Rios-Ellis is both witness and creator.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Itzél Rios-Ellis is a Mexican-American artist born and raised in both California and Mexico. She is based in San Francisco and was awarded a BFA in Illustration from California College of the Arts in 2024. Her practice involves the use of an array of mediums spanning traditional and digital illustration, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. Her work largely centers on the creation of vignetted portraits of her characters: surrealist depictions of genderless girls who enjoy baring their teeth to those who perceive them. Through mostly oil painting and graphite drawing, she creates stories, weaving personal and worldly narratives together while provoking conversation about her own studies and reflections on nature’s devastation, cultural heritage, apocalypse, and the otherworldly.