This fall, The New Mexico State University (NMSU) Art Museum is pleased to present Border Destroyer, a monumental mural project by New York-based artist and educator, Carlos Rosales-Silva, installed in the Mullennix Bridge Gallery. In Border Destroyer, El Paso-born Rosales-Silva transforms two 60-foot gallery walls in the museum with a two-part mural critiquing unjust land boundaries and border control while depicting the liberating force of art and education. Drawing from modernism’s roots in Indigenous design and traditional Mexican material culture, Rosales-Silva connects varied cultural and ecological iconography from the border region within this textured mural, blurring the lines between architecture, landscape painting, and abstract art.

Rosales-Silva expands upon this project, “When reflecting on my recent murals, paintings and drawings, I realized the highly textured surfaces, bright colors, and shapes—both organic and architectural—were heavily influenced by my upbringing. I grew up in a family of creative individuals: builders, welders, party planners, musicians, and poets. They laid a strong foundation for me early on, but my surroundings also played a significant role. The specific architecture of my hometown, filled with painted walls, community murals, and sign paintings—the michoacanas, panaderias, memorial murals, decoration at quinceañeras—greatly inspired my work.”

This project evolved from a two-day visit in Spring 2024, during which Rosales-Silva instructed painting students in the NMSU Department of Art, prompting them to respond to their local environment. The resulting empowering works will be integrated by Rosales-Silva into his piece, emphasizing the collaborative nature of murals and displaying themes of community, belonging, and resistance. Rosales-Silva’s mural also draws from the flora and fauna of the Chihuahuan Desert, and it evolves from his time spent studying the architecture and shapes found in and around the museum itself. In Border Destroyer, Rosales-Silva acknowledges the cultural exchanges and socio-political histories that have shaped the architectural and cultural landscape of the borderlands and NMSU.

About the artist:
Carlos Rosales-Silva received his Masters in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts and is currently represented by both Sargent's Daughters in Los Angeles, CA and New York City, NY and Ruiz-Healy Art gallery in San Antonio, TX and New York City, NY. He has exhibited extensively in the United States and Mexico, with recent exhibitions including group shows at the Latinx Project at NYU, Texas Tech University, Penn State University, Beverlys in New York, NY, and North Loop Gallery in Williamstown, MA. He recently completed a residency at the Bemis Center in Omaha, NE, after previous residencies at Abrons Art Center, Residency Unlimited in NY, and Artpace in San Antonio, Texas. Rosales-Silva lives, teaches, and works in New York, NY. Rosales-Silva joins NMSU Art Museum fresh off completing murals at The Momentary in Bentonville, Arkansas, and the San Antonio Museum of Art in Texas.
For information on Carlos Rosales-Silva, visit his website at https://carlosrosalessilva.com/ and follow him on Instagram @loloafterdark.

Acknowledgements:
Border Destroyer by Carlos Rosales-Silva at NMSU was made possible in part with support from The Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, Devasthali Family Foundation Fund; The Mellon Foundation; The Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation; Ruiz-Healy Art, San Antonio / New York; NMSU College of Arts & Sciences; Friends of the University Art Museum; Mullennix Art Museum Fund; George and Lucy Gray Endowed Art Fund; and several private donors.

Programming:
On view from September 27, 2024 through March 8, 2025. Join us for the opening reception at the University Art Museum on Friday, September 27, 2024, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. An artist talk with Carlos Rosales-Silva will be held on October 3, 2024 at 5:30 pm. “Murals 101”, a guide to creating murals with Carlos Rosales-Silva and local artists will take place on November 14, 2024.

Location: Mullennix Bridge Gallery.

Museum Information:
The UAM is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm, at 1308 E. University Ave., Las Cruces, New Mexico, 88003. Admission to all programming is free and open to the public. For more information please visit https://uam.nmsu.edu/exhibitions/exhibition-pages/carolyn-salas-night-vision-en.html.