Into the Hourglass opens at the Museum of Art

Art lovers are celebrating a new exhibition at the Museum of Art, Into the Hourglass: Paño Arte from the Rudy Padilla Collection, featuring paño art and other artforms from the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.

The exhibit opening reception was held Oct. 3 with NHCC head curator Jadira Gurulé conducting a gallery walk-through. The exhibit opened to the public Oct. 3, and runs through Jan. 3, 2026.

Paño art is a traditional artform in Southwestern U.S. prisons that have a high concentration of Hispanic or Chicano inmates. Paño is Spanish for “cloth” and is a commonly used word for handkerchiefs.

These artists use a white handkerchief as the media for creating personal artwork, decorating it with ink from ballpoint pens or colored pencils. Artistic styles vary by artist, but they all portray a wide range of personal images and cultural symbols.

Another form of artwork created by incarcerated artists is small sculptures that are woven from saved and recycled materials. Using such items as cigarette packs, magazine pictures, chip bags, or paper, they create interlocking, origami-like, three-dimensional sculptures.

There will be a representational selection of such pieces included in the exhibit including picture frames, baby booties, a belt, and a purse. Additionally, the exhibit features several pieces of artwork drawn on envelopes.

The NHCC holds the largest public collection of paños in the United States. Collected by Rudy Padilla across the Southwest, the art was purchased by the NHCC Art Museum in 2019. Into the Hourglass opened at the NHCC in 2023 and has since become a traveling exhibit.

The Las Cruces Museum of Art is only the second institution to which the exhibit has traveled. This exhibit is significant in that it brings public awareness of paño arte as a distinct artform within the field of Chicano art.

Numerous events are scheduled during the exhibit run. Two screenings of the documentary film “Paño Arte: Voices from the Inside” are scheduled; one at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, and another at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5.

A Zoom presentation with the film director, Evangeline Griego, will take place at 1 p.m. Dec. 5. Sara NcNie Flores speaks about her work as an art coordinator in a youth detention facility from 1-2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22. Additional events are being developed; please visit the Las Cruces Museums’ social media platforms for more up-to-date information or email Bryan Lee at blee@lascruces.gov.

The museum is located at 491 N. Main St. and is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. There is no admission fee. The museum is accessible from Roadrunner Transit Route 1 Stop 1. For additional information, visit the website at lascruces.gov/museums or call (575) 541-2137/TTY 711.