Sean Hughes, a UTRGV studio art junior, showcases his works in the Rusteberg Art Gallery on the Texas Southmost College campus in Brownsville. Hughes said of the exhibit: “It's a way for us to show what we are doing in the arts with the community. … Unfortunately, we’re in the community, but we are not in the community and it's tucked into this building that almost nobody knows.” Eduardo Cortez/THE RIDER
“Structure,” an exhibit of paintings, photographs, sculptures and prints by studio art junior Sean Hughes, continues through Wednesday at the Rusteberg Art Gallery in Brownsville.
The exhibit is sponsored by the Engaged Scholarship and Learning Office and the Office of Student Success. Engaged Scholarship and Learning awarded Hughes a $2,000 scholarship to produce the exhibit. He was mentored by Carl Vestweber, a professor in the School of the Art and Design.
Hughes’ works were inspired by familiar spaces within the Valley, photography, screen printing, pop art and an alternative way to use different media and materials, said Jesmil Maldonado, director of all galleries at UTRGV.
The artist started the process of compiling the art pieces for the exhibition in Spring 2022, when he began to learn the ropes in silkscreen printing.
The idea behind most of his art pieces, Hughes said, is that instead of taking pictures of people, the structures are supposed to represent people, and people see themselves in the structure.
“So [the buildings] are mostly abandoned,” he said. “It’s the idea that [at] any certain age, you should be able to identify in some way. … So by seeing it and walking past these buildings that normally we don’t think about, it’s like walking past people on the street and not even giving them a second thought.”
Hughes said that by seeing the abandoned buildings, the spectators should see themselves and how little things and people in their daily life go ignored.
One of the reasons Hughes decided to photograph and get inspiration from old buildings is that the buildings get reused and get a new life every time they are reinvented, giving them “the breath of second life.”
“It’s like second chances,” he said. “Everybody would love a second chance, a do-over, so buildings get that. So in turn, it’s symbolic of people.”
A piece in the exhibit showcases signage, particularly “EXIT.”
Hughes described the piece as the idea that everyone has a level of depression, or low anxiety and “sometimes you’re in a place, you just scream and get out.”
“But on the outside, you look normal,” he said.
Lysset Santibanez, Rusteberg Art Gallery assistant and an art education senior at UTRGV, said visitors have been enjoying the exhibit, and although it may look simple, there is a lot of technique that was used to create the art pieces.
“Sean Hughes’ exhibition is showcasing a lot of techniques and works that I feel like our department in Brownsville is lacking,” Santibanez said. “Or, in general, I feel like it is showing undergraduates that you can step out of your comfort zone.”
She said art like Hughes’ work should be featured in order to give artists the room to explore more of themselves and what it is they want to present.
“We really need to learn how to pave our own way and our own style besides what is being taught, and I feel like Sean’s work brings just that,” Santibanez said.
The closing reception for “Structure” will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday in the gallery, which is located on the Texas Southmost College campus in Brownsville.
