Alumna Marianna Olague's Painting "Spare" Acquired by El Paso Museum of Art
Marianna Olague, Spare, 2024.
Cranbrook Academy of Art alumna Marianna Olague (MFA Painting 2020) has made a significant mark at the El Paso Museum of Art (EPMA) with a recent mural and the acquisition of her painting Spare into the museum’s permanent collection.
Olague’s mural, inspired by the Reuben Salazar Apartments in El Paso’s Segundo Barrio, greets visitors in EPMA’s main foyer, across from Gaspar Enriquez’s iconic portraits. Brightly rendered in Juárez-inspired yellow, the work features family members and community figures, reflecting Olague’s deep ties to the neighborhood where she grew up. During EPMA’s summer camps, the mural also became an interactive teaching tool, with students imagining conversations between its characters.
A mural by Marianna Olague at the El Paso Museum of Art. Image courtesy of the El Paso Museum of Art
In addition, EPMA members voted to acquire Olague’s painting Spare (2024), a self-portrait depicting the artist hefting a flat tire at a gas station — an homage to her father’s lessons in mechanical repair and the resilience of border culture. Selected through the museum’s Members Choice Program, the work joins EPMA’s permanent collection alongside recent acquisitions by Laura Turón, the De la Torre brothers, and Vanessa German.
Olague, who has held residencies at the Chinati Foundation and exhibited at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, is known for her hyperrealist portraits that transform everyday moments into bold, luminous scenes. Her work continues to resonate deeply with her El Paso community while garnering national recognition.
Self in Community, Art in Place: Marianna Olague at the El Paso Museum of Art – Glasstire
