Las Vegas-based artist Justin Favela will present a new site-specific installation and solo exhibition on the Museum’s Project Wall. Favela creates vibrant large-scale murals and sculptures inspired by art history, community, celebration, pop culture, and his Mexican-Guatemalan upbringing in the US. As a multidisciplinary artist, Favela is interested in exploring the notions of authenticity, place, and identity using familiar materials to create his pieces. 

His process often begins with an exploration of a place and its identity. For his project at CAM, Favela will survey St. Louis’ landscape, history, and collections, to inform the new work. Using paper and glue, his labor intensive technique evokes piñatas and party decorations as symbols of Latinx joy and visibility. Favela’s colorful and often humorous works aim to critique cultural stereotypes and create public dialogue around what it means to be Latinx in the US. 

Justin Favela: Ruta Madre is organized for the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis by Misa Jeffereis, Associate Curator. 

Justin Favela (b. 1986, Las Vegas, NV; lives and works in Las Vegas, NV) is 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 US. His installations have been commissioned by museums including the Denver Art Museum in Colorado, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas, and El Museo del Barrio in New York. He is the recipient of the 2021 Joan Mitchell Foundation Fellowship. He holds a BFA in fine art from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.