September 17 – November 8

Opening Reception: Thursday, September 17, 6:00-8:00 PM
Artist talk begins at 6:30 PM

Free and open to the public

Wilson Arts Center | 204 Nash St S | Truist Event Gallery

SPONSORED BY ARTSUITE

“Paintings” brings together two distinct artistic voices, creating an active dialogue through the universal language of painting. Though Sack and Ortega approach their work from different perspectives, the exhibition invites viewers to consider the connections that emerge through color, form, expression, and the act of painting itself.

ABOUT PETE SACK
Raleigh-based artist Pete Sack is known for multifaceted portraits and abstract paintings that encourage viewers to slow down and look beyond first impressions. A graduate of East Carolina University with a BFA in Painting, Sack spent more than four years as an Artist-in-Residence at SAS Institute, creating more than 175 works for its campuses and regional spaces. The experience expanded his practice beyond figurative work and into abstraction.

Today, Sack works in both styles. His abstracts explore physical and emotional flow, often using masonry tools to drag and manipulate paint, while his figurative works combine detailed portraiture, multiple faces and abstract elements to create layered compositions. In 2025, Sack and artist Jean Gray Mohs became co-directors of Visual Art Exchange in Raleigh, where they support emerging artists and help foster creative community.

ABOUT RENZO ORTEGA
Renzo Ortega, born in Lima, Perú, has spent more than half of his life living and creating in the United States. He earned a BFA from the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes del Perú and an MFA in painting from Hunter College and also studied at the Art Students League of New York.

Ortega’s work has been exhibited at museums and galleries including the Nasher Museum of Art, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Weatherspoon Art Museum, El Museo and Queens Museum. He is a recipient of the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Individual Support Grant and the North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award. In addition to his studio practice, Ortega has created public art and community murals and taught painting and drawing at UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University and The Arts Center in Carrboro.

For Ortega, painting is both an artistic practice and a record of the world in which it is created. He describes it as “a visual document of our times” that invites viewers to enter the narrative and create a dialogue with the work.