Sebastián en San Antonio

Sebastián
Artist Enrique "Sebastián" Carbajal

(SAN ANTONIO) – The city of San Antonio will celebrate the acclaimed artist, Maestro Sebastian, marking the sculptor’s 50-plus years in the profession. Sebastián in San Antonio: 50+ Years / 20+ Sites / 100+ Works” features works from the famed Mexican artist displayed in public spaces across the city, from October 2019 through May 2020.

UTSA Libraries will host a selection of the artist’s sculptures at the three university campuses: Main, Downtown and Hemisfair.

Sebastian has exhibited work in more than 235 exhibitions and has earned 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, the piece symbolic of the intertwined relationship between the United States and Mexico.

The city selected Art Specialist and UTSA Libraries Art Collection curator Arturo Almeida as curator for Sebastian in San Antonio, selecting the pieces and exhibit locations across the city. He describes Sebastian’s work in a curator’s statement:

“Over the course of one year, like mathematically inspired poems, the brightly painted planes, points and lines that express a lifelong labour of love will grace the historic plazas and promenades of San Antonio.”

Almeida cites critics and writers who have described Sebastian’s work as “minimalism, kinetic, optical and pop art,” and a merging of science, art and technology into emotional geometry. Sebastian sees geometric shapes as syllables, words and phrases in a visual language.

At the UTSA Main Campus, the John Peace Library will host 12 pieces including three large-scale sculptures at the North Commons, eight miniatures in cases near Special Collections, and a medium piece at the Dean of Libraries office. The Downtown Campus Library will host four pieces. The Hemisfair Campus will host three pieces, including two flanking the entrance bridge and one inside the Institute of Texan Cultures museum.

For more information on Sebastian in San Antonio, including a complete roster of sculpture installations, visit www.sanantonio.gov/Sebastian.

Learn more about our opening event