TAMIU Names 2023-24 Artist in Residence, Adilene I. Rosales
This Fall and next Spring, Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) students will have the special benefit of instruction from an acclaimed Texas artist, activist, and educator who has been named TAMIU’s Artist in Residence, 2023-24.
Adilene I. Rosales, a lecturer at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) in Edinburg, will lead three TAMIU Workshops throughout her residency. The student workshops will focus on figurative ceramics, organic materials, and social practice.
Her first student Workshop, “We Are All Built Differently,” was Friday, Oct. 13, and was focused on figurative sculpture. Students learned methods such as building and hollowing, soft-slab building, and coil building. The Workshop taught the foundations of building three-dimensional forms and exploring anatomical structures utilizing photo references and self-observation.
Rosales is a Texas native and received her MFA from UTRGV. She says her work is especially dedicated to elevating understanding about childhood cancer.
In her Artist’s Statement, she writes, “I dedicate my work to raising awareness of childhood cancer. My life has been affected by this disease from an early age. Losing my mother, three aunts, and cousin to cancer gave me the illusion that it only affected adults. However, research shows that childhood cancer is more common than we think, approximately 250 children lose their lives daily worldwide.
“Regardless of age, sex, race, and socioeconomics, cancer knows no bounds and does not discriminate. I believe that children are our future and investing in their health should be the priority of any generation. Raising awareness through my art gives the viewers a glimpse of what these children see in their daily lives while battling this disease,” Rosales notes.
She says her use of clay is deliberate.
“My decision to use clay in my sculptural work is to relate the way stages in both clay and tumors work. Stage one can be controlled easily since both clay and the cancer cells are pliable and can be altered without any major damage. As the stages progress it becomes more challenging to make any serious changes; clay starts to dry and becomes the most fragile state of the process, and once fired little to no changes can be done structural-wise -- same for tumors in the last stage meaning the cancer has spread to surrounding tissues and/or lymph nodes and a lot harder to control,” Rosales observes.
She also incorporates objects into her creations, in often unexpected ways.
“In both my sculptural work and installations, I utilize facial expressions and objects such as pacifiers, hospital gowns, and IV bags to convey intense emotions and give the viewer a glimpse of what is experienced while facing this disease. The usage of stoneware clay and porcelain is to convey how someone diagnosed with cancer typically becomes pale,” Rosales reveals.
Her deeply personal legacy empowers her and also encourages hope, she believes.
“Due to my personal experiences, I am committed to being the voice and shedding light on the devastating impact of cancer for both the survivor and loved ones. I wish to express not only their pain and suffering but also their hope for a healthy future,” Rosales concludes.
Additional student workshops will be held Nov. 17 on “Organic Paper Clay Sculptures,” while a Feb. 2, 2024 student workshop will look at 4HOPE Windchimes. Rosales will host a special exhibit of her works at TAMIU in Spring 2024.
TAMIU offers a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Art and a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Art with All Level Certification. To learn more about the Visual Arts at TAMIU, including faculty profiles and course descriptions, visit https://www.tamiu.edu/coas/fpa/art.shtml
Additional University information is also available on the University’s website, tamiu.edu, and social channels on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, Twitter, and YouTube.
