Pase Usted

The vibrantly colored forms in Carlos Rosales-Silva's mural look like two archways that beckon you to pass through. In fact, the Spanish phrase Pase Usted means "welcome" or "come in" and is used on signage for Latinx shops and restaurants in the US and Mexico. Examples of round and corbel arches can be found across SAMA's grounds and galleries and are respectively associated with classical European architecture and the architecture of the precolonial Americas. Here, they suggest portals to the Museum's vast collections. The swirling blue motif is the artist's interpretation of similar wave and plant-like patterns observed on vessels throughout the Museum. The design spans centuries and continents—from Neolithic China (ca. 2000 BC) to twentieth-century Mexico—revealing enriching connections across time, culture, and place.

Rosales-Silva's installation inaugurates Gateway, an ongoing project series that will enlist contemporary artists to activate SAMA's main lobby. Born in El Paso, Texas, and now based in New York City, Rosales-Silva adeptly blends forms found in nature and the built environment, distilling them to bold abstractions. Rosales-Silva draws on his experience growing up on the US-Mexico border to create brightly hued paintings that explore vernacular cultures of the American Southwest, the western canon of art history, and the political and cultural intersections between them.