Associate Professor Robert Bradley has Ph.D. in Art History and Archaeology from Columbia University. Currently he is an Associate Professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He has written a monograph entitled The Architecture of Kuelap (VDM, 2008) and his recent publications include “Sudado de Raya: an Ancient Peruvian Dish” in the winter 2012 issue of Gastronomica, “Coca: An Andean Daily Chew” in Cualli: Latin American and Iberian Food Studies Review, and “A Western Mirage on the Bolivian Altiplano” in Buen Gusto and Classicism in the Visual Cultures of Latin America, 1780-1910 (University of New Mexico Press, 2013). “Architectural Anomalies in the Northeastern Forest of Peru” in Visual Culture of the Ancient Americas: Contemporary Perspectives, edited by Andrew Finegold and Ellen Hoobler, University of Oklahoma Press has just been published in 2017. In progress is “The Life catfish in Pre-Columbian Moche Art and Culture”, in Andean Foodways: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Pre-Columbian, Colonial, Contemporary and Symbolic significance of Food and Cuisines in South America, edited by John Staller and Robert Bradley and finally “Innovative Ingesting of Alkaloids in Ancient South America” in peer review for Gastronomica, University of California Press. Dr. Bradley is also the Faculty Fellow of UTRGV’s Honors College.

Curriculum Vitae

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Robert Bradley, Ph.D.
Professor
School of Art and Design
Email: robert.bradley@utrgv.edu
STAC 2.108
Phone: (956) 665-2897

Professor
School of Art and Design
Email: constance.cortez@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 665-3480

Professor Elena Macias

Education

-MFA, Art, The University of Texas - Pan American, 2001

-BFA, The University of Texas - Pan American, 1989

-BA, Universidad Valle del Bravo, 1981

Curriculum Vitae

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Elena Macias, MFA
Professor
School of Art and Design
Email: elena.macias@utrgv.edu
VABL1.103
Phone: 956-665-2213

Raised amongst the cotton fields of northern Arkansas along the banks the Mississippi river delta, Ed attended Arkansas State University and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1985. Ed attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale graduating with the Master of Fine Arts degree in 1989. His primary research is oriented around the use of 3D technologies and the development of cast and fabricated sculpture within public and intimate spaces. Ed has exhibited his work in Utah, Tennessee, California and Ilinois galleries throughout his career. He was Chair of the Department of Art and Digital Media at Bethany College Kansas for several years, Assistant Director of the Sculpture Center at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and Director of the California Sculpture Center. Ed also worked in New Jersey for New York City sculptors, Joel Shapiro and Julian Schnabel. He worked in Illinois for Ernest Trova, to name a few. Ed travels to the desert southwest each summer and is heavily influenced by the art of indigenous peoples and their lands.

Curriculum Vitae

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Ed Pogue
Director, School of Art and Design
School of Art and Design
Email: ed.pogue@utrgv.edu
EVABL 1.201
Phone: (956) 665-3481

Areas of Expertise

-Alternative surfaces in Printmaking, Painting, and Ceramics

Education

MFA, Printmaking with course work in Ceramic-Sculpture, Computer, and Painting, Rochester Institute of Technology, 1983

BA, Painting and Graphic Arts with Course work in Photography & Ceramic-Sculpture, Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, 1981

Curriculum Vitae

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Reynaldo I. Santiago, MFA
Professor
School of Art
Email: reynaldo.santiago@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 665-7599

Dr. de Souza’s areas of interest are the modern visual culture of Latin America with emphasis on the use of mass printed photography as narrative device and propaganda.

• Areas of Expertise

  • The history of photography with special attention to the modern printing culture created after the advent of the halftone process in the 1890.
  • The use of mass printed photography as narrative device and propaganda.
  • Mass printing analogue technology
  • Latin American Modern Art
  • Women Press

• Education

  • PhD, Art History, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2009
  • MS, Editing of Photography, Brooks Institute of Photography, 1998
  • Licenciatura, Brazilian History, University Federal Fluminense, 1981

Curriculum Vitae

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Carlos De Souza, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
School of Art
Email: carlos.desouza@utrgv.edu
VABL1.214
Phone: 956-665-3483

Born in Texas on 1971
MFA University of Texas A&M -Commerce, Texas 1998
MAE University of Texas Tech , Lubbock Texas 2006
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture 1997

Courses Taught:Painting II, III, & IV, Perception & Expression in Art I & II (Art Education), Creative & Critical Thinking (Art Education) , Art Curriculum (Art Education), Design I & 2, Introduction to Black and White Photography, BFA Studio Portfolio, BFA Exhibition, Contemporary Issues, Study Abroad Italy

Graduate Level Courses: Studio 2D Experience Sections 1 and 2, Design Seminar

Curriculum Vitae

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Marcus Farris, MFA
Associate Professor
School of Art and Design
Email: marcus.faris@utrgv.edu
VABL1.208
Phone: 956-665-2930

Artist’s Biography

Robert Gilbert is a graphic designer, digital artist and educator. He graduated from the Otis Parsons Art Institute in Los Angeles and received a masters degree from California State University at Los Angeles. His design experience ranges from advertising to publication and he works to refine a visual approach that combines the surprise of commercialism within fine art design. His personal work uses the digital image, employing the concept of a personal mythology. Robert has taught and worked as a designer in Greece, and he is an Honorary Professor at Hangyang Normal University in China. He is an Associate Professor at University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, working in the boarder region of south Texas.

Curriculum Vitae

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Robert Gilbert, MFA
Associate Professor
School of Art and Design
Email: robert.gilbert@utrgv.edu
VABL1.212
Phone: 956-665-2214

BFA-1995-Kansas City Art institute MFA-2000- American University Teaching at UTPA since 2006

• Areas of Expertise

  • painting, drawing, application of drawing and painting in creating greater appreciation of indigenous ecosystems, local ecosystems, paleontology, sequential narrative illustration

• Education

  • MFA, Painting, American University, 2000
  • BFA, Painting, Kansas City Art Institute, 1995

Curriculum Vitae

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Donald Lyles, MFA
Associate Professor
School of Art and Design
Email: donald.lyles@utrgv.edu
VABL1.302
Phone: 956-665-2966

Dr. Katherine McAllen

Dr. Katherine Moore McAllen is an Assistant Professor of Art History and Director of the Center for Latin American Arts at UTRGV. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University in the History of Art and Architecture. She received her M.A. in Art History from the University of Texas. She received her B.A in Art History from Trinity University. Her research has been supported by the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Art Foundation with the 2019-2020 Marilynn Thoma Post-doctoral Fellowship in Spanish Colonial Art and the Fulbright Hays Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. Her recent publications appear in the Latin American and Latinx Visual Culture Journal (University of California Press, 2021), the Journal of Jesuit Studies (Brill, 2019), San Antonio 1718 (Trinity University Press, 2018), and the New World in Early Modern Italy, 1492-1750 (Cambridge University Press, 2017).

Curriculum Vitae

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Katherine McAllen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
School of Art and Design
Email: katherine.mcallen@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 665-3480

Ping Xu, MFA
Associate Professor of Graphic Design

Ping Xu was born and raised in Shanghai. Before joining the teaching industry in the U.S., he began his professional career and served as a graphic designer, an Art Director, a Creative Director, and a Production Director in the advertising industry for ten years. Ping has been teaching visual communication design courses at all levels in the U.S. academic domain since 2005. He joined The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Fall 2015.

Ping's expertise includes identity design, poster design, collateral design, advertising design, interactive design, digital photography, and typography. His research interest is to create visual concepts through practical experiments and contemporary media and deliver ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers and target audiences.

Ping Xu received a total of twenty-two Bronze Awards in INDIGO Award International Design Annual Competitions 2018 in Amsterdam, 2019 in Malaga, 2020 in Bangkok, 2021 in Amsterdam, and one Silver Indigo Award in 2021 in Amsterdam. He received a total of seven Silver and Bronze Awards in the United Designs Alliance (UDA)'s International Annual Design competitions in Seoul 2018, 2019, 2020, and three Silver and Bronze Awards in the U.S. in 2021. In February 2020, Ping also received an Honorable Mention in 2019 London International Creative Competition (LICC). From 2007 to 2020, Ping received thirteen American Advertising Awards in ADDY Awards club competitions in Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. 

Ping's logo design was published in volume 12 of the LogoLounge Book Series in 2021. His ten graphic design and illustration works were published in Volume-IX, Volume-VII, and Volume-XI of the International Contemporary Artists book series in 2013, 2014, and 2016. His seven graphic design works were published in UDA Annual in 2018 and 2019. 

Ping also submitted work to join some professional exhibitions in national and international venues. Some of his graphic designs and photographs were accepted by some national juried exhibitions in St. Louis, Missouri, Naples, Florida, and some international exhibitions in Korea, China, and Taiwan in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Ping Xu initiated the Cross Connections International Design Exhibition and curated it in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2018. As an international exchange program, the visual communication juried exhibitions represented significant overviews of international graphic design trends, featuring faculty and students works from many international institutions making their marks in the Visual Communication field within their respective countries. The participating institutions in past years were selected from the United States, Germany, Russia, Belgium, South Africa, México, China, and Taiwan. In 2018, Ping curated the Cross Connections 2018 International Exhibition of Design & Illustration and collaborated with Brownsville Museum of Fine Art (BMFA) to showcase 96 works of visual communications and illustrations created by international faculty and students from ten participating institutions. They were School of The Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC); National Design Institute at Moscow, Russia (NDI); LUCA School of Arts, Belgium (LUCA); Central Academy of Fine Arts, China (CAFA); Luxun Academy of Fine Arts, China (LAFA); Shanghai University, China (SHU); The University of Texas Arlington (UTA); Ming Chuan University, Taiwan (MCU); and Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos México (UAEM). The purpose of this exhibit was to give a cosmopolitan view of the most exciting new work in graphic media. Eight participating institutions exhibited the ninety-six works for about two weeks in their respective campuses.

Ping Xu is a member of the Art Directors Club, New York, a member of the Type Directors Club (TDC), New York, a member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), and a member of the American Advertising Federation (AAF). Ping works as a freelancer to help design many pro bono works for local communities, non-profit organizations, national clients in the U.S., and international clients in China and Taiwan to maintain a professional practice.

Ping Xu has led Study Abroad trips since 2011. After joining UTRGV, he led UTRGV students to Mainland China for Study Abroad trips in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, and led students to Taiwan after their main Study Abroad trips in the Chinese mainland in 2017 and 2018. Ping also coordinated and led UTRGV Graphic Design students to participate in an internship program through the UTRGV Study Abroad Asia program, enabling students to gain an edge in the competitive job market and explore Asia cultures. The collaborating internship companies were McCann and Leo Burnett in 2018 and Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi in 2019. As the UTRGV Study Abroad Asia program faculty leader, Ping is currently preparing the new Asia trips in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan for the future.

Ping Xu, MFA in Visual Communication Design
Associate Professor of Graphic Design

Curriculum Vitae

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Ping Xu, MFA
Associate Professor
School of Art and Design
Email: ping.xu@utrgv.edu
EVABL 1.209
Phone: (956) 665-3480

Clara J. Choi, Ph.D.

Clara Joungyun Choi received my Ph.D. in Design at University of Minnesota followed by two masters’ degrees. She earned MFA in Graphic Design at University of Florida. With strong interest of multidisciplinary approach of solving design problems and interrelationship between 2D and 3D design, she earned MDes in Product Design at Domus Academy in Milan, Italy. She has many years of professional design experience in industrial contexts and various design collaborations. Her expertise includes brand system design, print/digital publication, user experience, and product design. 

Her interest in design for social impact including how design can help people to solve social problems, such as complex issues in education, environment and well-being is a driving force for her work. Her design philosophy has focused on social problems; in particular, she has looked at the relationship between human behavior and the environment such as products and systems, combined with design processes that can support people’s lives, not only environmental sustainability but also promoting human creativity. Current research focuses on how higher education, particularly design education, motivates students with different learning styles to have a creative mindset so as to enhance their creativity and ultimately influence their success.

Curriculum Vitae

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Clara J. Choi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Graphic Design
School of Art and Design
Email: clara.choi@utrgv.edu
EVABL 1.207
Phone: (956) 665-3480

Brandi Lee Cooper is a ceramic sculptor that works at the intersection of art and ecology. Her work is greatly informed by her background in zoology and her commitment to bridging disciplines in order to serve as a witness to humanity’s impact on the earth and advocate for urgent change.

BLC is an Arizona native. She holds a BS in Zoology from Northern Arizona University and an MFA in Ceramics from Arizona State University. She exhibits her work nationally and she has been a resident artist in Rome, Italy at CRETA, the Tempe Center for the Arts, and the University of Kansas.

Curriculum Vitae 
www.BrandiLeeCooper.com

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Brandi Lee Cooper
Assistant Professor
School of Art and Design
Email: brandi.cooper@utrgv.edu
EVABL 1.332B
Phone: (956) 665-3480

Romeo Di Loreto born in Toronto Canada March 15, 1965. I grew up in a very simple Italian family from the Abruzzo region of Italy. My memories and cultural roots are strictly Italian, I remember the foods, ideologies and beliefs. From Canada I have a great memory of the natural landscape and have respect for nature that the country reflects to the people and citizens. I have great respect for the natural surroundings, as a child it was a refuge and escape from all around that was around me. Today the Landscape and the natural surroundings has the same purpose, an escape and refuge. I studied photography at Ryerson University in Toronto Canada. Where I completed a four-year BAA Photography program specializing in Sensitometry and photographic chemistry, with a minor in semiotics and aesthetics vision and I graduated with dean institutional honors. After graduating I worked for Kodak Canada responsible for the technical division of the Kodachrome Processing Laboratories and collaborated and researcher for the film and paper innovative technology research department. I began my teaching career teaching continuous education classes in the evenings for Ryerson University in Toronto. My passion for photography and teaching made me decide to passionately attend graduate school and obtain my terminal degree where I could further my personal ideologies and visionary philosophies. After being accepted in several American Universities (Yale, Rhode lsland School of Art and Design, Art Institute of Chicago, Rochester Institute of Technology, School of Visual Arts and the San Francisco Art Institute) I choose to study at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah Georgia due to its unique surroundings which was very critical for my personal investigative visual and written research. After graduating from Savannah with Summa cum laude institute recognition and National Deans List. I then began to work for Archive Fratelli Alinari in Florence Italy. My vast knowledge as a Fine Art and Alternative Printer allowed me to investigate this wonderful world-wide recognized archive, and was challenged to make renew these glass plates to its original state. After Leaving Alinari I along with my colleague Paolo Woods opened Print Service (a custom black and white printing laboratory) and Print Gallery, founded in 1994 and was recently closed by who took it over.

Click Here to view entire Bio. 

Click Here to view Recent Works.

Curriculum Vitae

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Romeo Di Loreto
Assistant Professor in Photography
School of Art and Design
Email: romeo.diloreto@utrgv.edu
BRUST 165
Phone: (956) 665-3480

Christen Sperry García’s research intersects at art, performance, writing, pedagogy, and borderlands. She is co-founder of the Nationwide Museum Mascot Project (NWMMP). Examining the borders that exist between the public and the art museum institution, NWMMP has mascotted over 40 venues including the Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA; Orange County Museum of Art; Newport Beach, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, MI; Bushwick Site Fest, Brooklyn, NY; Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, CA; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Lima, Peru; San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA; and Museo de Arte Moderno, Bogotá, Colombia. For six years, she worked for the studio of world-renowned video artist Bill Viola coordinating exhibitions, publications, projects, and museum collections. Sperry Garcia has taught in school-based and public settings in New Mexico, California, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Guatemala, Cambodia, and Mexico. Sperry Garcia earned her B.S. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and M.F.A. from California State University, Long Beach. She received her Ph.D. in Art Education at The Pennsylvania State University where she also ran the Edwin C. Zoller Gallery within the School of Visual Art. She resides between Los Angeles, CA and South Texas.

Curriculum Vitae

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Christen Sperry Garcia, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
School of Art
Email: christen.sperrygarca@utrgv.edu
EVABL 1.205
Phone: 956-665-3489

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Timothy Gonchoroff
Assistant Professor
School of Art and Design
Email: timothy.gonchoroff@utrgv.edu
EVABL 1.329A
Phone: 956-665-3480

Gina Gwen Palacios was born in Taft, Texas. She earned an MFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design, a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Studio Art at Brandeis University, an MA from The University of Texas at Austin in Instructional Technology, a BA from Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi in TV/Film and an AA from Del Mar College in Radio/Television.

Drawing on her family history and Mexican American identity, Gina uses traditional and nontraditional materials, to highlight the often underrepresented geographic and cultural narrative of South Texas. Gina has exhibited at Arlington Art Center (Arlington, VA), Five Points Museum of Contemporary Art (Victoria, TX), Asya Geisberg Gallery (New York, NY), Villa Victoria Center for the Arts (Boston, MA), List Art Center, Brown University (Providence, RI), BAIT15 (Abu Dhabi, UAE) and the Newport Art Museum (Newport, RI). 

Curriculum Vitae

ginagwen.com

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Gina Gwen Palacios
Assistant Professor / Associate Director
School of Art and Design
Email: gina.palacios@utrgv.edu
BRUST 180
Phone: (956) 882-8805

Dr. Riccardo Pizzinato is Assistant Professor of Medieval Art History at UTRGV. He received his B.A. (2000) and his M.A. (2005) from the Catholic University in Milan, Italy. Advised by Prof. Herbert Kessler, he earned his Ph.D. in 2012 from The Johns Hopkins University. Before joining the faculty at UTGV, Dr. Pizzinato served as the Zanvyl Krieger Curatorial Fellow in the Department of Manuscript and Rare Books at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore from 2009 to 2013. From 2013 to 2015, he taught as Visiting Assistant Professor of Medieval Art at the University of Minnesota, Morris. His research interests focus on Pictorial Arts in the West from 800 to 1300 and Museum Studies with a primary interest in early medieval manuscripts. His research gives particular emphasis to the study of medieval image theory, artifacts material, and the relationship between art, theology, philosophy and aesthetics. Having served as Cultural Mediator and Interpreter for the 31st Medical Group at the United States Air Force Base in Aviano, Italy, Dr. Pizzinato is moreover trained in medical language and translation.

Curriculum Vitae

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Riccardo Pizzinato, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
School of Art and Design
Email: riccardo.pizzinato@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 665-3480

DM Witman is a transdisciplinary artist working at the intersection of environmental disruption and the human relationship to place in the Age of the Anthropocene. Her creative practice is deeply rooted within the realm of the effects of humans on this world using photographic materials, video, and installation. DM is affiliated with Klompching Gallery, NY and Cove Street Arts, Portland. Recent interviews and publications include The Guardian, BBC Culture, WIRED, Boston Globe, and Art New England. She actively exhibits her work and has been recognized with grants from the Maine Arts Commission, The Kindling Fund (a regractor for the Warhol Foundation), The John Anson Kittredge Fund, and the Puffin Foundation.

Curriculum Vitae

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DM Witman
Assistant Professor
School of Art and Design
Email: dm.witman@utrgv.edu
EVABL 1.201
Phone: (956) 665-3480

Atended the San Francisco Art Institute, earned his BFA in Interdisciplinary Art earned his MFA in Studio Art from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

• Areas of Expertise

  • art

• Education

  • MFA, Studio Art, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2003
  • BFA, Interdisciplinary Art, San Francisco Art Institute, 1997

Curriculum Vitae

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Paul Valadez, MFA
Assistant Professor
School of Art and Design
Email: paul.valadez@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 665-2898

Erika Balogh was born in Mezotur, Hungary. Her bi-cultural background has greatly shaped her identity and influenced her artwork as well. When she moved to the United States, Erika left behind a traditional part of her life associated with her Hungarian heritage, her childhood memories, and her family. She entered into an utterly different culture; a more modern and eclectic society that completely changed her life. However, aspects of her Hungarian traditions continued to form her artwork and her self-presentation.

Erika Balogh received her MFA with a concentration in Design from the University of Texas – Pan American in 2013. She is currently a lecturer at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, Texas. Erika’s research interest include the role of women in society, social and economic disparity and exploring alternatives to capitalism, and trademarks and symbols as social signifiers.

Courses Taught: ARTS 1311 Drawing I, ARTS 1332 Typography, ARTS 3330 Image & Illustration, ARTS 3333 Design & Production, ARTS 3338 Ideas & Styles, ARTS 4333 Graphic Design I, ARTS 4334 Graphic Design II, ARTS 4339 Portfolio for Graphic Design, ARTS 4391 Individual Problems/Internship/Co-op.

Curriculum Vitae

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Erika M. Balogh, MFA
Lecturer III
School of Art and Design
Email: erika.balogh@utrgv.edu
EVABL 1207
Phone: (956) 665-7478

Stephen Hawks, MFA

Stephen Hawks, born in Washington D. C., has lived most of his life in Georgia. He has training in art, music, and theater, an AA in theater from South Georgia College, a BFA from Valdosta State University, and an Interdisciplinary MFA, with a concentration in Ceramics from Florida State University. He was Resident Potter at Westville living history museum for 19 years and an independent artist for over 30 years. He is married with two grown Daughters.  He came to Brownsville Texas in the fall of 2012 to teach at UTB, courses in Ceramics, Graduate Art Ed, Art History, 3D Design, and Art Appreciation. Currently, he oversees the Ceramics Program and teaches Foundations in the School of Art and Design at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on the Brownsville Campus. Stephen Hawks is also a poet and musician. He invites collaboration across disciplines and supports this in his educational practice.

https://stephenhawks.com/ 
Stephen Hawks - Official Website (pixels.com)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenhawks1 
Stephen Hawks - YouTube

Curriculum Vitae

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Stephen Hawks, MFA
Lecturer III
School of Art and Design
Email: stephen.hawks@utrgv.edu
BRUST 131
Phone: (956) 882-8909

Lilia Cabrera has been teaching the variety of facets that make up public school art education since 1999. In 2007, Cabrera started teaching art education courses at UT- Pan American Edinburg, TX.

Cabrera's creative experiences are deeply rooted in Brownsville, Texas, where she was born and raised. Upon graduating from Homer Hanna High School, Cabrera pursued her Bachelor of Fine Art at the University of Texas- Pan American. Her specialized training is in secondary art education and printmaking. In 2007, Cabrera fulfilled her passion in completing a Masters in Art Education through the Texas Tech University hill country program known as the Junction School of Art.

Her success in teaching art in such a fashion where students can learn to appreciate it as if it were a core subject has delivered positive change in the most challenging of students from differing backgrounds. Her teaching style weighs heavily on encouraging higher order thinking and critical problem-solving skills, along with real life situations, in order to teach students to exercise their imaginations and promote art making. Her practice has earned her the recognition of being a Texas Art Education Association (TAEA) Leadership Scholar. She collaborates with TAEA in reforming state standards for art educators in the public and private school districts across the state.

Nonetheless, "first and foremost," Lilia Cabrera is an artist. Cabrera’s art consists of amoeba-like, organic-like, claw-like, sperm-like, and cool-like figures that harmonize in a strange ‘attack mode’ performance in her art. She likes to refer to this entourage as ‘La Contra,’ which basically is that force that lurks around contradicting everything that is the ‘creative you.’ The taboo of being a female artist determined to succeed in the art world through the creation of art that nurtures and plays the game with ‘La Contra.’ Cabrera’s canvas, or surface for art making usually consists of recycled items. Aluminum cans, plastic bottles, furniture crates, discarded plaster, and outdated organdy are just a few things that she utilizes in stamping her fight and eternal relationship with ‘La Contra.’ Cabrera imagines herself creating art for the rest of her life, teaching people the value of art in our everyday activities, and producing as much recycled art works in an effort to educate
the viewer of ‘trash’ alternatives.

Curriculum Vite

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Lilia Cabrera, MFA
Lecturer II
School of Art and Design
Email: lilia.cabrera@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 665-3480

Rigoberto Gonzalez

Painting and Drawing

Education

-MFA, Painting, New York Academy of Art, 2004

-BFA, Studio Art, The University of Texas - Pan American, 1999

Curriculum Vitae

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Rigoberto Gonzalez, MFA
Lecturer II
School of Art
Email: rigoberto.gonzalez@utrgv.edu
EVLABS 1201
Phone: (956) 665-3480

Brenton Hamilton is an educator and visual historian who’s interests are focused on the earliest processes in photography, working as a process historian and the chemistry of the medium. Earning his MFA at Savannah College of Art and Design, Brenton has worked in photography, teaching students the darkroom processes and especially instructing in the early handmade processes of 19th century alternative processes. Brenton is a well known mentor in the photographic community and has exhibited internationally. His work is in public and private collections throughout the US. His work has been published in monograph form, released by Schilt Publishing in Amsterdam with a forward by the NYC critic Lyle Rexer. The book is titled: The Blue Idyll, 2020

Curriculum Vitae

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Brenton Hamilton
Lecturer II
School of Art and Design
Email: brenton.hamilton@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 665-3480

Mr. Julian R. Rodriguez

Education

-MFA, Ceramics & Sculpture, The University of Texas - Pan American, 2007

-BA, Art, St. Edward's University, 1994

Curriculum Vitae

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Julian Rafael Rodriguez, MFA
Lecturer II
School of Art and Design
Email: julian.rodriguez@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 882-7785

Japheth Asiedu-Kwarteng is an Artist, working primarily in ceramics and mixed media. He holds a BA Industrial Art (Ceramics option) from KNUST, Ghana, and an MFA in Ceramics from Illinois State University, USA. Japheth is a member of National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA), International Academy of Ceramics (IAC) and Artaxis. Japheth has exhibited his works in several prestigious solo and group exhibitions in Jamestown Café, Accra, Ghana, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento CA, Blue Line Arts, Roseville CA, Weston Art Gallery, Cincinnati OH, DAAP Galleries, Cincinnati OH, University Galleries, Normal IL, Taylor Gallery, Newark DE, Grizzly Grizzly, Philadelphia PA, Rachel Cooper Gallery, Normal IL, Art Ventures, Fayetteville AR, among others. He was a presenter on the theme “Ghanaian Ceramics Now: Ahoↄden! at 2021 NCECA Conference.

Japheth has works in the permanent collections of the University Galleries, Normal, Illinois and other private collectors in the United States.

He is a recipient of Baber Fellowship, Multicultural Fellowship of NCECA, Friends of the Art Grant, and Lela Winegarner Fellowship; and Marshal Dulaney Pitcher and Zenobia scholar respectively.

Japheth’s research and creative practice are inspired by Kente and its history in materiality (expanding its symbolism) and explore the communicative potential of fabric and fibers to discuss the experiences and the complexities of the diaspora.

Curriculum Vitae

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Japheth Asiedu-Kwarteng
Lecturer I
School of Art and Design
Email: japheth.asiedukwarteng@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 665-3480

My work is mostly improvisational. That includes sculptural and time‐based actions that extend into social space. Exemplified in a performance collaborative called the Nationwide Museum Mascot Project (NWMMP), we engage in sight specific performance making with the aim of promoting Museums and Art spaces to the public. I consider my work a social activity that can be a catalyst for discourse and community. Because I see my work as a fulcrum for listening and talking, the work that is produced can be, and often is, disposable. I prefer the transitory energetic interaction between human beings over the stored energy of a built-to-last object. Another way to put it is that art, for me, is a beautiful context to help us communicate with one another.

 I love the alchemy of making. I love the swiftness of fabricating from found materials. For me, art is about discovering the beauty that others overlook, and juxtaposing disparate objects and ideas to create something never seen before-at least by me. Execution must be fast, materials must be cheap, and the idea must spark me to action. There are always reasons not to make stuff, but if I don’t make it, who will? At least, who will make it like I will make it?

There are times when the ideas come so quickly that I am overwhelmed. In those moments, it has to be enough to fix a thought to paper in the form of a sketch or brief text. By hanging a notion in a sketch-book I can retrieve it later; pull it out and put it on. I recently gave a talk at UCLA about drawing. While researching the talk I understood that for me, drawing is a way of holding an idea. The drawing, whether it is in the form of a quick sketch, a detailed drawing, a water color, or a finished piece, brings elusive thinking and thoughts into focus just enough, not to solidify and ground something into a fix reality, but to keep it alive, ready to be acted upon in the physical world.

Allan Kaprow once said to me: “You make good work but you think too much.” Just play. Just do. This is a call to action that I have never forgotten.

Curriculum Vitae

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Brian Dick
Lecturer I
School of Art and Design
Email: brian.dick@utrgv.edu
VABL 1201
Phone: (956) 665-3480

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Elizabeth McCormack-Whittemore, MFA
Lecturer I
School of Art and Design
Email: elizabeth.mccormackwhittemore@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 665-3480

Lecturer I
School of Art and Design
Email: guadalupe.navarro@utrgv.edu
EVABL 1.205
Phone: (956) 665-3480

I am versatile in both traditional and digital arts, I can clearly see close connections and principles that can be applied to both. For me digital art form or traditional art is not just about reproducing reality but is an about exploring simple shapes and generating basic form that I can build on. I enjoy art creation process, expressing myself, solving design and technical problems as well as creating educational content.
I am dedicated and experienced faculty with over 14 years of experience in digital content development, teaching campus-based, online classes (5 years) and independent studies in private, community college and state run colleges and universities in the United States and abroad (4 years in South Korea). I taught students from diverse backgrounds, cultures, countries, veterans, overseas military (online classes), and ages; from high school students to retirees.
Education:

• DePaul University Chicago, Illinois M.S. in Computer Graphics and Animation September 2007
• The Illinois Institute of Art Chicago, Illinois B.F.A. Media Arts & Animation December 2002

Curriculum Vitae

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Aneta Urbanska
Assistant Professor of Practice
School of Art and Design
Email: aneta.urbanska@utrgv.edu
EVABL 1.201
Phone: (956) 665-3480

Jessie Burciaga is an artist working in installation, printmaking, sculpture, and assemblage. Born between the border towns of Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros Tamaulipas, Mexico. His work reflects his strong and longstanding interest in socio-political issues along the U.S./ Mexico border. Burciaga's work shows vulnerability by accepting the painful truth and the contemporary reality of La Frontera. Rather than relying on pain as a focal point, Burciaga uses it as an anchor, tethering the realm of dreams, the subconscious, and the spiritual. His work is honest to the experiences of loss and grief, without discounting the hope for a better tomorrow.

Burciaga received his BFA from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and his MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He currently resides and works in Brownsville, Texas.

Curriculum Vitae

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Jessie Burciaga
Part-time Lecturer
School of Art and Design
Email: jessie.burciaga01@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 665-3480

Fabian was born in Mastranto Pinal de Amoles Queretaro, Mexico. He establish an early interestin art while growing up which led him to study a Masters of Fine Arts at The University of TexasRio Grande Valley in Edinburg Texas.

While in art school from 2015 to 2018 Fabian develop his love for painting, drawing, and sculptinghe realized the three can go had by had as he pursued and develop new techniques that heincorporated as a painting style.

Social commentary, cultural mixture, and self-identity became the base of Fabian's piecesthrough the years ranging from the political climate in South Texas Border, social justice,domestic issues, race, migration, and even the covid 19 pandemic. The most popular series todate and the largest body of work is the series of mixed media paintings that document thespotlight of mixed culture on the border. Fabians has expanded this into his works that speak tothe common people that struggle and are afraid to be unique and different with fear of beingpersecuted, because of their color.

The body of work was created during the development of his master's degree in Edinburg Texasfrom 2015 to 2018 with the help of his graduate committee which proudly guides a wide range oftalented groups of artists to develop a body of work. He is part of an organization called OutdoorPainters Society, travels to other parts of Texas and the US, and paints the beautiful outdoors.

Fabian has broadly exhibited his work not only in Rio Grande Valley but nationally andinternationally. His preferred medium in painting is oil on canvas, drawing super black Indian inkon canvas, sculpting with foam. He lives and works on South Texas Border.

Curriculum Vitae

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Fabian Chavarria
Part-Time Lecturer
School of Art and Design
Email: fabian.chavarria01@utrgv.edu
EVABL 1.218
Phone: (956) 665-2480

Artist Biography:

Jesmil M. Maldonado Rodriguez is a Puerto Rican artist raised in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico. From a young age, a passion for art developed, which lead her to study fine arts at a college level. She pursued her Bachelor’s degree in Arts at The University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. Maldonado received her degree with honors in June 2016. In December 2019, she acquired her Master’s in Fine Arts degree with a concentration in two-dimensional art and two minors, one in Design and the other in three–dimensional work from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Maldonado- Rodriguez is currently working as a professor at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. In which she mainly teaches Printmaking and Drawing, focusing on the approach and understanding of the basics of each area. Encouraging students to apply the different techniques to their major and finding new methods and development in their artwork. In her teaching, she also breaks language boundaries by providing explanations and assistant in Spanish to the students, that is their primary language.
She was published in the Latino Book Review Magazine 2020 Issue, alongside other artists, poets, writers, etc. She was the featured artist for the Chicana/Latina Studies: the Journal of MALCS for the Spring 2019 Issue. Her work has been exhibited in Puerto Rico, Texas, and New York. She is working in a new series of illustrations that represent the “normal” within the peculiarity in her mind—aiming to share these works with a broad audience in different upcoming exhibitions.

Curriculum Vitae

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Jesmil Maldonado
Part-Time Lecturer
School of Art and Design
Email: jesmil.maldonado01@utrgv.edu
EVABL 1.323

Education:

• Master’s of Fine Arts, Illustration Practice, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), 2019 
• Bachelor of Arts, Art, Summa Cum Laude, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), 2017 

Curriculum Vitae

clarissamartinez.com

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Clarissa Martinez
Part-Time Lecturer
Email: clarissa.martinez01@utrgv.edu

Part-Time Lecturer
School of Art and Design
Email: noel.palmenez@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 665-3480

Part-Time Lecturer
School of Art and Design
Email: eduardo.quintero@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 665-3480

Part-time Lecturer
School of Art and Design
Email: rene.rhi@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 665-3480

Part-time Lecturer
School of Art and Design
Email: jeffrey.stanley@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 665-3480

Josefina Stoleson is an instructional designer for the Center for Online Learning, and Teaching Technology at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She has seven-teen years of experience in the instructional design and development field. She is responsible for faculty support, design and development of online courses. Josie has adjunct instructor for the Art department and Continuing Education department, for over 8 years, where she teaches graphic and interactive design.

I create art to express my personal thoughts, feelings to communicate with my community, and to tell a story. The purpose for my artwork is to provide the audience a new visual experience through my digital illustrations. I also share my life experiences through teaching. I firmly believe in active learning.  Feedback, is an important aspect of learning, it should not be taken personally, but rather push the learner past what they think they are capable of achieving.  Mrs. Stoleson holds a Master in Fine Arts degree from UTPA.

Curriculum Vitae

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Josie Stoleson
Part-Time Lecturer
School of Art and Design
Email: josefina.stoleson@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 665-3480

Carl Vestweber

Education

-MFA, Studio Art, Tufts University, 2013

Curriculum Vitae

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Carl Vestweber, MFA
Part-Time Lecturer
School of Art and Design
Email: carl.vestweber@utrgv.edu

Phone: (956) 665-3480