Events
Museum Exhibits
The Salado Enigma: The Melding of Southwest Cultures
January 5, 2019 - June 1, 2019
El Paso Museum of Archaeology
The appearance of the Salado and their beautiful Redware Ploychromes in the Southwest has been the subject of much research and debate since the earliest days of archaeological investigation in the region. This exhibit will explore the Salado people, their possible origins, lifeways, and disappearance from the Salt and Gila River Basins in the Western New Mexico and Eastern Arizona Highlands. In addition, the exhibition will feature beautiful examples of Salado Polychromes both from the Museum’s own collection as well as objects loaned from other institutions in the region.
More Information: https://archaeology.elpasotexas.gov/exhibits/changing-exhibits
Ancient Borderland: The Jornada Mogollon
April 27, 2019 - July 13, 2019
El Paso Museum of Archaeology
The people known by archaeologists as the Jornada Mogollon inhabited the Borderlands since Archaic times. Although there are few remains of this culture that are generally accessible to the general public, these people lived in several pueblos throughout the Hueco Basin, the area where the City of El Paso and Fort Bliss currently stand. This mini exhibition will complement the Rock Art of the Jornada Mogollon exhibit by presenting general information about these enigmatic people as well as showcasing a number of artifacts attributed to them.
More Information: https://archaeology.elpasotexas.gov/exhibits/changing-exhibits
Rock Art of the Jornada Mogollon
April 27, 2019 - July 13, 2019
El Paso Museum of Archaeology
The Southern part of New Mexico, West Texas and North-Central Mexico is known by archaeologists as the Jornada Mogollon Region. This region is rich in prehistoric rock art left behind by the ancient inhabitants of the region. This exhibition will showcase petroglyphs and pictographs from iconic sites such as Hueco Tanks, Three Rivers and Otero Mesa, as well as lesser known treasure troves from both sides of the international border through the camera lenses of rock art experts, students and amateur enthusiasts alike.
More Information: https://archaeology.elpasotexas.gov/exhibits/changing-exhibits
Antonio Castro
April 19, 2019 - August 7, 2019
El Paso Museum of Art
Born in 1941 in Zacatecas, Mexico, painter Antonio Castro has lived and worked for most his life in the El Paso/Juárez borderland. Combining previous work with newer creations, this exhibition explores Castro’s figurative art, characterized by religious and mythological imagery combined with autobiographical elements, personal symbols, and commentaries on life and culture.
More Information: https://epma.art/art/exhibitions/antonio-castro
Joy and Suffering: Mexican Retablos from the EPMA Collection
March 8, 2019 - August 25, 2019
El Paso Museum of Art
Isolated from major city centers, inhabitants of 19th century rural Mexico looked to untrained artists to craft devotional Christian images for their homes. These artists utilized readily available materials and created modest, yet distinctive works of art by blending traditional Christian imagery with folk and pagan beliefs. EPMA, committed to collecting, interpreting, and presenting Mexican art, has amassed the second-largest museum collection in the United States of what are now called retablos, or small devotional paintings on tin and copper.
In March 2019, EPMA’s retablos collection will undergo an entirely reimagined installation, offering highlights representative of the breadth and depth of EPMA’s holdings, including the display of ex-votos, or works commissioned to commemorate miracles, as well as bultos, or carved wooden sculptures. The installation will examine images of the Virgin Mary in her many folk and formal manifestations, from the well-known Virgin de Guadalupe to the lesser-known Our Lady of Solitude. When considered together, EPMA’s retablos offer a framework for understanding the daily joys and sufferings of life in 19th century Mexico and demonstrate the continued desire, despite a lack of means, for personal devotional imagery.
More Information: https://epma.art/art/exhibitions/joy-and-suffering-mexican-folk-retablos-from-the-permanent-collection
Luces y Sombras: Images of Mexico
May 24, 2019 - September 8, 2019
El Paso Museum of Art
Capturing modern Mexico’s culture, architecture, and people through photographs, Luces y Sombras presents over one-hundred works dating from the 1930s to the present day. Portraits of artists such as Frida Kahlo—by acclaimed photographer Manuel Alvarez Bravo—and photographs of indigenous cultures by Manuel Carrillo and Graciela Iturbide are presented alongside contemporary photographs exploring the body, identity, and place.
This exhibition is provided by the Bank of America Art in Our Communities program. Educational programming for this exhibition is supported in part by Texas Women for the Arts.
More Information: https://epma.art/art/exhibitions/mexican-and-american-photography-from-the-bank-of-america-collection
From Fire & Earth
February 22, 2019 - September 22, 2019
El Paso Museum of Hisotry
The El Paso Museum of History and El Paso Museum of Archaeology present this exhibition of Casas Grandes ceramics that flourished during their Medio Period (AD 1200 – 1450) in the northwest corner of modern-day Chihuahua, Mexico. Pottery, as perhaps no other medium, reflects the culture of its maker. This exhibition shows the art expressions of the Casas Grandes people who would become prolific potters producing some of the finest pottery of the Pre-Columbian world. The Mata Ortiz pottery that we know today is one of the richest and most diverse pottery producing regions in the world. The exhibit features many examples of Casas Grandes and Mata Ortiz ceramics from the permanent collections of the El Paso Museum of Archaeology and the El Paso Museum of Art. These art pieces show not only the ancient art of pottery, but also the appreciation of Mesoamerican cultures.
More Information: http://history.elpasotexas.gov/
Tom Lea and World War II
August 23, 2019 - December 4, 2019
El Paso Museum of Art
From 1941 to 1946, Tom Lea served as a World War II eyewitness artist correspondent for Life magazine, documenting the war from its front lines. The exhibition features works from the renowned World War II art collection at the U.S. Army Center of Military History at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, as well as key pieces from EPMA’s significant collection of works by Lea. The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue published by the Tom Lea Institute.
More Information: https://epma.art/art/exhibitions/tom-lea-and-world-war-ii
Ideas Unwrapped
February 17, 2019 - December 31, 2019
El Paso Museum of Art
Artists’ ideas come from many places, including culture, history, personal experiences, and beliefs. Ideas Unwrapped presents fourteen artworks from the El Paso Museum of Art’s permanent collection that focus on how ideas transform into art. Filling EPMA’s Mac Rogers Gallery and Ginger Francis Seminar Room, the exhibition features works by internationally known artists Peter Coffin, Vik Muniz, Juan Quezada, Yinka Shonibare, and Kara Walker, as well as El Paso artists Guillermo “Memo” Gutierrez and Zeke Peña.
More Information: https://epma.art/art/exhibitions/ideas-unwrapped
