ABOUT Cortney
Through my art I hope to attend to those issues that have had the greatest impact on my ability to create: beauty in nature, suicide, military life, disability, racism, chronic illness, Mormonism, and being a gay man. I don’t intend to tell people how to take these subjects in, but I do intend to offer an opportunity to see these issues from a new angle. I am most inspired by other queer artists, and I produce works as an apostrophe and reflection of my life as a Mexican American queer man. I am a multidisciplinary creative. My mediums include photography, painting, textile/fashion, writing, dance, and especially the culinary arts.
I am currently focused on photography, its process, and interactions with subjects, and I often design intricate and complex staging. Whether it is creating a new world or observing the one where we are, photography has given me a chance to really immerse myself in creation.
Each discipline has its place in my creative process and the connection to my work is deep and emotional. A tremendous amount of my energy and love goes into each and every artwork.
Cortney Mansanarez was born and raised in the desert and mountain terrains of Wyoming and Utah where unique cultures and landscapes built and shaped his perspective of the arts and world in general. For twelve years (2000-2012) he danced as a guest artist in residence with the Utah Metropolitan Ballet and freelance for numerous companies in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, and Colorado. During this timeframe he earned a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and as a volunteer program manager trained volunteers in hospice patient care. He also spent a great deal of time wokring with and being mentored among his favorite restauranteurs in Salt Lake and Utah county, immersing himself among the culinary world to the best of his ability in order to write about food, and become a chef himself. From 2012 through 2022 Cortney served honorably in the US Navy as a cryptologist, but was medically retired due to unfortunate circumstances. He is currently in San Diego, California, practicing as an artist full-time.
