Every Little Piece Counts
10/17/2023
Studio Art Student Assists Las Vegas-Based Contemporary Artist for Two National Museum Solo-Exhibitions on View this Fall
Studio art major Alpha Manabat with artist Justin Favela in his Las Vegas studio.
The Division of Communication, Art, and Media at the Mount is proud to announce that Alpha Manabat ’24, a senior studio art major, assisted international contemporary artist Justin Favela this Summer for two solo exhibitions at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis and the Denver Botanic Gardens, both on view this Fall.
Alpha’s work was created during her summer internship with Justin Favela, a Las Vegas-based artist known for large-scale installations and sculptures that manifest his interactions with American pop culture and the Latinx experience. He has exhibited his work both internationally and across the United States. His installations have been commissioned by many museums, including the Denver Art Museum in Colorado, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas, and El Museo del Barrio here in New York. He is the recipient of the 2021 Joan Mitchell Foundation Fellowship and holds a BFA in fine art from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Alpha’s internship took place for a month this past Summer.
Alpha was referred to Justin by Assistant Professor of Studio Art Thomas Ray Willis after discovering that they were both from Las Vegas, and she was currently looking for creative opportunities during her Summer back home. Professor Willis was a book contributor for “Justin Favela: Fantasía/Fantasy, A Decade of Practice 2011-2021,” which documents ten formative years of Justin’s vibrant and varied art practice that includes painting, sculpture, installation, curation, and the groundbreaking art and culture podcast “Latinos Who Lunch.”
You can see Justin and Alpha’s work “Ruta Madre” currently on view at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis until February 11, 2024. Additionally, “Justin Favela: Vistas in Color,” was on view at the Denver Botanical Garden until October 1, 2023.
A brief interview with Alpha on her internship experience is included below!
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Alpha Manabat. I’m a senior majoring in studio art at the University of Mount Saint Vincent. I am currently interested in mixed media art and themes that I draw inspiration from our relationships and storytelling.
What internship did you participate in?
I completed a Summer internship in Las Vegas for an amazing artist, Justin Favela. I assisted mostly with the landscape murals he is doing.
How did you hear about this opportunity?
One of my art professors, Thomas Ray Willis, connected me to Justin Favela, who is a fellow artist and colleague of Professor Willis. I was very lucky to connect with him for an internship. I am interested in learning about how artists work behind the scenes at their studio, so this opportunity was something I am very grateful for.
Why did you do this internship?
I was interested in sculptural works, especially paper as the main medium, so seeing Justin’s portfolio made me want to know more about his art process. I live in Las Vegas, where his main studio is, so this internship made it easy for me to work at his studio this Summer. For me, art is something cathartic at times, but also one of the few things in life that I want to be better at. I feel like I am discovering more of myself and others through art, so I want to continue making it.
What projects did you work on? What did you learn?
I worked with Justin’s other assistants on a lot of different landscape murals, but, specifically, the Denver Botanic Gardens installation and the “Jesus es mi Pastor” painting for his solo-museum exhibit in St. Louis. My job consisted of cutting different colors of tissue paper with specific measurements, (depending on the paintings we were working on) and pasting them piece by piece on the color coded parts of the paintings. I also learned how to package and store artworks safely with archival materials and methods.
There were lots of skills I learned through this internship, such as how to systematically plan out the steps to create a large-scale project, as well as how to work and communicate with artist assistants, both in-person and long-distance as Justin did. I also learned that creating a professional setting and community atmosphere with your assistants was as important as your finished art piece, because you want to make sure that everyone working on the artwork cares as much as the artist does. The little tiny pieces of paper that each of the people pasted on the collage was vital to the creation of the whole artwork, so no effort was wasted on it.
Justin said, “Do what’s the easiest for you,” in terms of creation and medium. This was one of the great pieces of advice I learned from him, which made sense as an aspiring artist who is constantly trying to experiment with different materials and concepts. Art can be daunting most of the time, but seeing all the effort that Justin put in was a motivation for me to create more art and hopefully inspire people.
What’s next for you?
I plan on applying to graduate school after the Mount to learn more about certain art practices that I’m interested in, and maybe even be a college professor myself someday! I also plan to do more assistantships with other artists. Lastly, I hope to expand my portfolio and show my work at exhibitions to grow more as an artist.
About the University of Mount Saint Vincent
Founded in 1847 by the Sisters of Charity, the University of Mount Saint Vincent offers nationally recognized liberal arts education and a select array of professional fields of study on a landmark campus overlooking the Hudson River. Committed to the education of the whole person, and enriched by the unparalleled cultural, educational and career opportunities of New York City, the College equips students with the knowledge, skills and experiences necessary for lives of achievement, professional accomplishment and leadership in the 21st century.