Mata Ortiz is a small village in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, less than 100 miles from the United States/Mexican border. Mata Ortiz is located at the base of a mountain known as El Indio and on the west bank of the Rio Palarganas, a tributory of the Rio Casas Grande. The ancient ruins of Casas Grandes are located near by.

Mata Ortiz has recently experienced a fine art movement based on a “reinvention” of an ancient Mesoamerican pottery tradition. Inspired by pottery from the ancient city of Paquime, which traded as far north as New Mexico and Arizona and throughout northern Mexico, modern potters produce work for national and international sale. This new artistic movement is due to the efforts of Juan Quezada, the self-taught originator of modern Mata Ortiz pottery, his extended family and neighbors.

Mata Ortiz pots are hand built without the use of a potter’s wheel. Shaping, polishing and painting the clay is entirely done by hand, often with brushes made from children’s hair. All materials and tools originate from supplies that are readily available locally. The preferred fuel for the low temperature firing is grass-fed cow manure or split wood.

New artists have learned the techniques and the art movement continues to expand. A vibrant flow of new ideas, without the restraints of traditional practices or gender constraints, has enabled the pottery of Mata Ortiz to avoid derivative repetition common to folk art movements. This blend of cultural expression, economic need and artistic freedom has produced a unique artistic movement in the community.

In 1976, anthropologist Spencer MacCallum visited Mata Ortiz and met Juan Quezada and his extended family of brothers, sisters, their children and neighbors. Information published after this and later visits quickly promoted the acceptance of Mata Ortiz pottery as a contemporary art form. This simple pottery is accepted and admired as folk art and fine art.