Second Floor galleries are temporarily closed as our HVAC system undergoes a major upgrade. Kress, American Art, Contemporary Art, and Latin American Art collections will remain off view until the upgrade is complete. Thank you for your patience!
The El Paso Museum of Art opens to members for a special evening devoted to building the museum’s collection. Vote for your favorite work of art, sip and celebrate, while enjoying an evening of music and art. Stop by the Museum Store for holiday gifts and complimentary gift-wrapping with purchase.
Opening Remarks 5:45 PM
Voting 6-7 PM
Selected Artwork Announcement 7:45 PM
RSVP online! Contact us for more details at 915-212-3068 or epmamember@elpasotexas.gov.
Not a member? Join us or give the gift of membership! Visit our membership page for details.
The 2019 Members’ Choice acquisition is provided by the Robert U. and Mabel O. Lipscomb Foundation Endowment.
Early Texas
Porfirio Salinas and Eugene Thurston are two prominent early Texas artists known for their vibrant landscapes. Salinas was one of the first Hispanic artists to gain recognition for his impressionistic paintings of the state while Thurston, who lived in El Paso for over seventy years, depicted the region’s rocky outcroppings and colorful fall seasons.
Porfirio Salinas, Hill Country Blossoms, Prickly Pear Cactus Texas, 1930s, oil on canvas.
Porfirio Salinas, Hill Country Blossoms, Prickly Pear Cactus Texas, 1930s, oil on canvas.
Eugene Thurston, Superstition Mountains, undated, oil on canvas.
European
A leading Venetian painter, engraver, and architect, Paolo Farinati is known today for his pen and ink studies for frescoes and sculptures. Neptune and Galatea, a study for a domestic wall fresco, is a characteristic sheet for the artist and evidences the widespread appeal of classical Roman mythology in 16th century Venice.
Paolo Farinati, Neptune and Galatea, undated, pen and brown ink, brown wash, heightened with white, on ochre prepaired paper.
Contemporary
Beatriz Cortez’s interactive sculptures challenge canonical ideas of modernity, revealing the indigenous roots of Western ideas. Seventy Six Point Cosmic Shield exposes the nomadic origins of housing structures associated with 1960s Utopic architecture while The Beast, a modified pinball machine, traces a migrant’s journey and toys with the colonial spirit traditionally grounding many versions of the game.
Beatriz Cortez, Seventy Six Point Cosmic Shield, 2019, steel, zinc coated chain link, mylar, car hood sections, and zip ties.
Beatriz Cortez, The Beast, 2015, multimedia installation built on a discarded playfield.