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ANDI SAPIEN

Andi Sapien is the inaugural artist in the Pasos program.  She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in Ceramics and a minor in Sculpture at the ¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ of Texas at El Paso, with an expected graduation date in Spring 2026. As both a functional and sculptural mixed-media artist, Sapien’s primary medium is ceramics, which she embraces for its physical demands. She describes the medium as requiring the involvement of her "whole body and emotions” to effectively translate complex internal narratives into material forms. 

The selected work for the Pasos program, Growing Pains is a vessel that serves as a powerful statement on the fight for self-definition and feeling comfortable in one's physical form, particularly when navigating societal pressures and traditional community expectations. Sapien’s inclusion in Pasos at El Rubin underscores her ability to create sculptural works that transform intimate personal narrative into an insightful commentary on the negotiation of identity and social norms. 

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am not the first odd-child-out to be born into the cultural bubble that is El Paso, Texas, and I certainly won’t be the last. When reflecting on my life in the borderland I can conjure many images of home, family, my culture and all it’s beauty. An inevitable feeling to arise though, is the dilution of true personal self, exchanged for acceptance by a rather traditionally community. My entire life I found myself constantly conforming to strict societal expectations. Spoken and unspoken rules to be followed- lest I make others uncomfortable. This is represented in my vessel by long trensas snaking around my figure conjuring the image of constraints or feeling the of suffocation. The concepts of youth and lack of a bodily autonomy are intertwined in my mind like the strands of a braid. My vessel is symbolic of the fight that gender non-conforming individuals must face just to feel comfortable in their bodies. The feeling of unease and discomfort brought on by the vessel are intentional, as the concept of fighting forced femininity seldom comes up in the conversation of beauty and desire. Textiles hang on clothing lines, throughout the vessel, a nod to what we choose to wear and not wear- as clothing has always played such an imperative role in identity.  The suggestion of disrobement leads the eyes to two clay framed portraits. In one frame a pair of anonymous bloodied legs stand above a severed chest, a hand carrying a dripping heart. The other frame depicts an unashamed self-portrait, myself fighting the personified idea of forced femininity. Both pieces explore body horror and gore as a facet of femininity. As an artist I enjoy layering juxtaposing imagery to mimic the multifaceted-ness of reality. I find my art woven into this intersection of horror and beauty, all threaded into the ties of mundane life.  

Alexandra urbina

Alexandra Urbina is a Mexican-American artist born and raised in El Paso, TX.  She will receive her double B.A. in Art History and Art with a concentration in Painting in December 2025. Urbina views painting as a tool for meditation on the ephemerality of life, creating figurative works that explore the unreliability of memory. She has shown in various exhibitions throughout El Paso, including the 2025 Annual Juried UTEP Student Art Exhibition at the Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts. Her art history practice revolves around modern and contemporary art, with a focus on the intersection between art and science. Most notable recent contributions include her research presentation at the 10th Annual Anne Perry Art History Symposium at UTEP, and her written wall exhibition texts for the 2025 UTEP Department of Art Faculty Biennial at the Rubin Center.

ARTIST STATEMENT

In 6:31, Alexandra Urbina turns her eye towards a moment that is both ordinary and deeply personal, capturing her father at a moment of profound vulnerability. The painting’s title refers to the exact time the source photograph was taken. This detail reflects her desire to hold onto something specific and real, even as she acknowledges how memory shifts and blurs. Urbina deliberately avoids formal portraiture, offering instead a quiet, unposed moment, reflecting her recent shift from researching ancestral histories toward engaging directly with her own lived experience.

Materially, 6:31 is constructed through layers that act almost like a private diary. Urbina incorporates materials drawn from her personal journaling and collage practices, including pieces of canvas and fragments of newspaper. In this way she embeds private reflections beneath the painted surface. These hidden layers shape the work while remaining unseen, creating a tension between exposure and privacy. The mix of loose lines, visible brushwork, and overlapping textures reminds us that both images and memories are made through constant editing, repair, and reworking.

Urbina says that she chooses her colors intuitively. Here, a restrained palette of just four colors infuses the painting with a sense of nostalgia and emotional weight. The cool green-blue tones evoke institutional spaces and the atmosphere of illness, subtly echoing the circumstances of the moment captured. Balancing expressive abstraction with pockets of delicate realism, 6:31 becomes an intimate meditation on presence, vulnerability, and the fleeting nature of time.

CAleB JOLLY

Caleb Jolly describes his work as follows: "Alone, often obscured figures set within distorted, geometric interiors that resemble dingy apartments. Using muted, drab color palettes, oil paint evokes a sense of familiarity, grounding the scenes in a shared domestic reality, while black rectangular forms punctuate the compositions as unresolved absences. These obscured figures, caught in states of withdrawal, embody the barriers between consciousness and our inability to access another person fully. Thresholds, doorways, and blocked passages recur as metaphors for this alienation, offering glimpses of connection that remain perpetually withheld."