Art
Return to: College of Liberal Arts
The Department of Art offers a comprehensive program in the visual arts. Degrees awarded include: the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Studio Art, the Bachelor of Arts (BA) Studio Art, Bachelor of Arts (BA) Art Education with All-Levels Teacher Certification, and the Bachelor of Arts (BA) Art History. BFA Students may choose concentrations in the following areas: Ceramics, Drawing, Graphic Design, Metals, Painting, Printmaking, and Sculpture. BA Studio Art students may choose concentrations in the following studio areas: Ceramics, Drawing, Graphic Design, Metals, Painting, Printmaking, and Sculpture. For the BA major in Art History and the BA major in Art Education, please see detailed descriptions under those headings.
The Department of Art is located in the Fox Fine Arts Center on the campus of The University of Texas at El Paso. The Department occupies four floors of the Fox Fine Arts Center, a 215,000 square-foot-facility, with 30 studios, galleries and classrooms totaling 65,780 square feet. The Department of Art works closely with the Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, which includes three galleries and lecture hall, and exhibits. The Rubin Center is the only dedicated contemporary arts institution in the El Paso / Juárez region. Since its founding in 2005, it has developed a reputation for excellence in the field, producing more than 150 original exhibitions and site-specific commissions with a risk-taking roster of international artists, overwhelmingly centering Latinx and Latin American voices.
UTEP art students have the opportunity to pursue studies in a rich and diverse curriculum comprised of advanced technologies, contemporary art practice, theory and criticism, and traditional crafts. With programs taught by distinguished faculty in art education, art history, ceramics, drawing, graphic design, metals, painting, printmaking, and sculpture, students can explore a personal vision through virtually any medium via these nine disciplines.
Mission
The Department of Art is dedicated to providing the highest quality education, professional presentation, and production in the visual arts. The Department will honor, maintain, and develop the traditions, history, and techniques of the visual arts with the purpose of contributing to the development of the contemporary state of the arts for the University and the community at large.
The suggested class schedule for freshmen art majors is as follows:
First Semester
ARTF 1301 Basic Design I, ARTF 1302 Basic Drawing I, and ARTH 1305 History of Art I, along with three to six (3 to 6) additional credits required under the chosen degree plan.
Second Semester
ARTF 1303 Basic Design II,ARTF 1304 Basic Drawing II, and ARTH 1306 History of Art II, along with 3 to 6 additional credits required under the chosen degree plan.
Chair
David Griffin
Contact Information: dfgriffin@utep.edu; 915-747-5941
Education: MFA, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign
Professor
Antonio Castro
Contact Information: antcastro@utep.edu; 915-747-5214
Education: MFA, Temple University - Tyler School of Arts
David Griffin
Contact Information: dfgriffin@utep.edu; 915-747-5941
Education: MFA, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign
Associate Professor
Thomas Birkner
Contact Information: tabirkner@utep.edu; 915-747-7839
Education: MFA, The Pennsylvania State University
Vincent Burke
Contact Information: vburke@utep.edu; 915-747-5176
Education: MFA, Louisiana State University and A&M College
Anne Giangiulio
Contact Information: amgiangiulio@utep.edu; 915-747-8612
Education: BA, Villanova University; MFA, Temple University - Tyler School of Art
Max Grossman
Contact Information: megrossman@utep.edu; 915-747-7966
Education: Diploma, The Blake School; BA, University of California-Berkeley; MA, Columbia University; M. Phil., Columbia University; Ph D, Columbia University
Melissa Warak
Contact Information: mcwarak@utep.edu; 915-747-7849
Education: BA, Vanderbilt University; MA, The University of Texas at Austin; Ph D, The University of Texas at Austin
Assistant Professor
Angel Cabrales
Contact Information: jcabrales@utep.edu; 915-747-8709
Education: BFA, Arizona State University; MFA, University of North Texas
Heather Kaplan
Contact Information: hgkaplan@utep.edu; 915-747-7849
Education: Ph D, The Ohio State University
Lisa Novak
Contact Information: lvnovak@utep.edu;
Education: Ph D, University of Georgia
Jessica Tolbert
Contact Information: jltolbert@utep.edu; 915-747-6813
Education: BFA, Texas State University, San Marcos; MFA, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Dina Edens-Perlasca
Contact Information: dpperlasca@utep.edu;
Education: MFA, New Mexico State University - Las Cruces
Nabil Gonzalez
Contact Information: nggonzalez@utep.edu;
Education: MFA, Rhode Island School of Design
Jacob Munoz
Contact Information: jmunoz8@utep.edu;
Education: MFA, New Mexico State University
Elisabeth Sommer
Contact Information: ewsommer@utep.edu; 915-747-8316
Education: Ph D, University of Virginia
Professor of Instruction
Therese Bauer
Contact Information: tmbauer@utep.edu; 915-747-7840
Education: MFA, Eastern Michigan University
Manuel Guerra
Contact Information: gumanuel@utep.edu; 915-747-5181
Education: MFA, University at Albany (SUNY)
The University of Texas at El Paso
Department of Art
Fox Fine Arts Room 350
500 West University Ave.
El Paso, Texas 79968
Email: artdept@utep.edu
Phone: 915.747.5181
Fax: 915.747.6749