Which Artists Are Everywhere in U.S. Museums?: Justin Favela is one of five figures that speak to our cultural moment

Justin Favela | Ben Davis, Artnet News

Justin Favela, CONERICOT, 2024, tissue paper and glue on wall. Photo courtesy the New Britain Museum of Art.

"Museums right now continue to be very focused on elevating minority voices—this is probably the central theme here. A rhetoric of community engagement and historical education dominates. These artists mainly lean towards installation and sculpture, working with materials that have symbolic connections to community and tradition.

Justin Favela

The Las Vegas-based artist (b. 1986) is above all known for his big and colorful installations that take inspiration from a very specific source: the piñata. A signature has been full-sized piñata lowrider cars, which scored Favela a special spotlight via the Museum of Sonoma’s current Cruisin’ show about lowrider culture. He also makes murals that employ the methods of cartoneria, or piñata-making, like those currently spotlighted at the New Britain Museum of Art with their joyful feathered paper surfaces."