Raphael Benero: 2020 MFA Thesis Exhibition

On view online: May 8, 2020 – Ongoing

Las Cruces, NM–The University Art Museum (UAM) will present Raphael Benero: 2020 MFA Thesis Exhibition, featuring artwork by MFA candidate Raphael Benero. This year’s MFA exhibition presents a body of work that invites viewers to engage in sculptures that replicate childhood objects negotiating cultural dynamics and Mexican American hybrid identity.

Growing up in El Paso, TX, Benero quickly realized that no matter how hard his family worked, keeping up with the Joneses was never in reach. Through observation of other neighborhood kids having lavishly expensive toys while he was left to his own devices, he became aware of unbalanced cultural and class dynamics at a very early age. The goal of Benero’s use of accessible materials, such as cardboard, stucco tape, steel, and plywood is to elevate commonly used household objects to “art status” by making a genuine gesture of authorship that is not implied through mass-produced objects.

Full page and press will go live Friday, May 8, 2020 at 8:00 AM on the UAM website.