New Mexico State University’s Art Museum at Devasthali Hall hosted the opening night of the 2025 Juried Student Show on March 21. The juror of this year’s show was Carlos Rosales-Silva. The doors of the exhibit opened to reception at 5:30 p.m., demonstrating a diverse array of art materials, techniques and concepts.
The annual Juried Student Show is meant to showcase the art of various NMSU undergraduate and graduate students who submit their work. Once displayed at the show, artwork can be sold to buyers, with proceeds going directly to the student artist. Those who have their work displayed do not have to be majoring in any art-related degree. This year, 48 students had their art showcased and 28 awards were given out.
Joshua Capitan, a mechanical engineering student, was one of the featured students with work displayed who is not majoring in art. For his digital piece called “The 3 Sisters,” Capitan mentioned that he drew inspiration from his grandmother’s Puebloan pottery and how his work reflected his indigenous ancestry.
“When it comes to indigenous people, they usually try to tell a story with their art, or our pattern designs will have meanings behind them. Or with some other indigenous communities, they will tell their histories orally, or they do it with their weavings or traditional fabrics,” Capitan said.
Arch Jones talked how his 60 by 60-inch painting for the show, “Mapping the ‘R’ Chromosome,” exposed him to new art-making techniques. His piece would later go on to win the Presidential Award – an accolade given out by the NMSU President.
“I started using a different method for painting than I usually do,” Jones said. “So, I was not sure how it was going to turn out, and once I was able to finish, I realized it was one of like the best things I have ever painted. And it felt really good and validating to get an award for it.”
Alejandra Reyes’ art piece was a cardboard and clay model of a giant fly, titled “Sorry! my bad.” She explained the unconventional name was drawn from her experience of making common mistakes.
“My thought process was, I tend to make a lot of mistakes, but I do not mean to make them,” Reyes said. “So, when I was making the art piece, that was the energy I wanted to capture. When I thought about something that could be seen as annoying, I thought about a house fly. People always hate on them, find them tiring and in the way. So, I made a giant fly destroying a little neighborhood when she does not mean to, so that is why I named it like that.”
Guinivere Mayse had submitted art for the Juried Student Show for three years in a row, until her work was finally accepted this year. Her acrylic and oil painting, “Shedded,” demonstrated her feelings of coming out and claiming her identity.
“Every day, I kind of remake myself, and I feel like I am shedding my skin, and I am creating a new person out of who I am. This is kind of an example of that, and it was a way of showing my identity as a queer person as well as highlighting how I change every day and how I want to be,” Mayse said.
