Chilean researcher and artist currently living in Santiago. For more than ten years, I have been inspired by art in different contexts, as I had the opportunity to live in Manchester (UK) for four years and then three years in Zurich (Switzerland). I have worked hard with mixed materials to put together the projects presented on this website.
Languages: Spanish and English.
"Each material, tool or techniques in art differs and affects the artwork. Then, its impact on the world is also different. My vision is to use that"
Francisca Ortiz Ruiz, 2025.
Influences
My current influences include the exceptional work of Louise Bourgeois, Guerrilla Girls, Suzanne Valadon, Berthe Morisot, Roser Bru and Doris Salcedo. Mainly, I admired works from Latin American women with various materials and colours in their art pieces.
Art is not only a form of expression; but also a way of life, emotions, references, and thoughts within the word of art.
Artist’s statement
My practice plays continuously with the diversity of materials and how those mixed options can allow us to portray different messages, colours, textures and feelings. I had to explore how those material dialogues within an art piece and others create new worlds. Art allows me to explore the relations between colours, fluidity and the creation process. It is a challenge in itself, learning when to stop the movement in a painting and when to intervene. I am currently working on all those challenges, especially the necessity of leaving blank spaces to leave the audience’s point of view to “enter into the image” too. As a sociologist and researcher, the link between the art piece and society is crucial."
What about my academic job?
Even tough art is one of my biggest passions, being a sociologist is another one, reason why I work in academia.
Currently, I'm an Assistant professor at the Centro de Economía y Políticas Sociales (CEAS), y Escuela de Gobierno y Administración Pública, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Artes, Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Chile. I'm also a Researcher at the Millenium Institute for Care Research (MICARE), in Santiago of Chile too. I did my Phd in the University of Manchester, in United Kingdom. Currently, I am the President of Women in Network Science (WiNS), and member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Care and Caring, and PLOS ONE. My areas of research interest: mixed methods, relational sociology (social networks), social gerontology, care justice, gender and science.
If you want to know more about my academic trayectory, please visit my other webpage.