UTSA staff work to set up one of the sculptures in the John Peace Library.
Oct. 7, 2019 — San Antonio and UTSA will celebrate acclaimed artist Maestro Sebastian, marking the sculptor’s 50-plus years in the profession. Sebastian in San Antonio: 50+ Years / 20+ Sites / 100+ Works, which runs from October to May 2020, features creations from the famed Mexican artist displayed in public spaces across the Alamo City.
UTSA Libraries will host a selection of the artist’s sculptures on the Main, Downtown and Hemisfair campuses, and UTSA and the Institute of Texan Cultures are partners of the exhibit.
Sebastian has exhibited work in more than 235 exhibitions and has earned many accolades, including the 1999 Paris Medal, the Jerusalem Prize in 2005, and Mexico’s National Prize of Arts and Sciences in 2015. Locally, Sebastian’s Torch of Friendship has stood for nearly 20 years in downtown San Antonio and is a symbol of the intertwined relationship between the United States and Mexico.
The city selected art specialist and UTSA Libraries Art Collection curator Arturo Infante Almeida to curate pieces for Sebastian in San Antonio and to select exhibit locations across the city. In his curator’s statement of Sebastian’s work, Almeida said, “Over the course of one year, like mathematically inspired poems, the brightly painted planes, points and lines that express a lifelong labor of love will grace the historic plazas and promenades of San Antonio.”
⇒ Learn more about the Sebastian in San Antonio exhibit and see a complete roster of sculpture installations.
Sebastian has said that he was influenced by minimalism, kinetic, optical and pop art. And Almeida said that Sebastian’s work explores the nexus of science, art and technology, merging the distinct fields into what has been described as “emotional geometry.” Sebastian said geometric shapes are the “syllables, words and phrases” of his visual language.
On Main Campus the John Peace Library will host 12 Sebastian pieces, including three large-scale sculptures at the North Commons, eight miniatures in cases near Special Collections, and a piece at the Dean of Libraries office. The Downtown Campus Library will host four pieces. The Hemisfair Campus will host three pieces, including two at the entrance bridge and one inside the Institute of Texan Cultures museum.
Maestro Sebastian is a Mexican sculptor who create the Torch of Freedom, located in downtown San Antonio.
UTSA Libraries Art Collection curator Arturo Infante Almeida looks over one of the largest of Sebastian’s pieces to be relocated to Main Campus.
A closeup of Sebastian’s signature that’s been forged into his work.
A closeup of one of Sebastian’s pieces being moved to Main Campus.
Almeida and his team discuss other pieces of sculpture to be moved to UTSA’s campuses.
More of Sebastian’s sculptures to be moved to UTSA’s campuses.
More of Sebastian’s sculptures to be moved to UTSA’s campuses.
More of Sebastian’s sculptures to be moved to UTSA’s campuses.
Loading the sculptures on a flatbed truck to be moved to UTSA’s campuses.
Loading the sculptures on a flatbed truck to be moved to UTSA’s campuses.
Loading the sculptures on a flatbed truck to be moved to UTSA’s campuses.
A Sebastian sculpture is transported across Paseo del Norte to the JPL.
A Sebastian sculpture is transported to Sombrilla Plaza.
A Sebastian sculpture is transported through Sombrilla Plaza.
A Sebastian sculpture is placed in John Peace Library.
A Sebastian sculpture on display in the John Peace Library.
A Sebastian sculpture on display in the John Peace Library.
A Sebastian sculpture on display in the John Peace Library.
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This event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
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UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
