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Branigan Cultural Center (BCC), 501 N. Main St. downtown, will open a new exhibition, “Vale la Pena” (It’s Worth It), Saturday, Jan. 14, the Las Cruces Museum System (LCMS) said in a news release.
The exhibit will feature the artwork of Gina Gwen Palacios, “a multi-media artist who draws upon her family history and Mexican-American identity to create portraits of her and her family’s lived experiences,” the news release said.
“Palacios uses traditional and non-traditional materials in her art, including cardboard, cotton, sandpaper and paint,” LCMS said. “Her use of materials is purposeful, choosing colors and materials that emphasize the long cultural heritage she and her family have had in the south Texas/Mexico borderland. Her parents’ stories about migrant farm work, picking cotton and racial discrimination are reflected in Palacios’ use of cardboard and cotton. She uses cardboard because of its brown color, availability and strength. However, it is also cheap and disposable; in using it Palacios makes it symbolic of the Mexican American labor force and the disposable treatment many workers receive from their employers. Palacios makes powerful statements through her artwork in order to highlight an underrepresented cultural narrative and geographic area.”
Palacios, who was born in Taft, Texas, is assistant professor of painting/drawing and associate director of the School of Art and Design at The University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, Texas. She earned an MFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design, a post-baccalaureate certificate in studio art at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, an MA in instructional technology from The University of Texas at Austin, a BA in TV/film from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and an AA in radio/television from Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The exhibit continues through Saturday, March 25.
BCC is accessible from RoadRUNNER Transit Route 1 Stop 1. The museum is open 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday. There is no admission charge.
For more information, call 575-541-2154.
Visit www.lascruces.gov/museums and https://ginagwen.com/home.html.
