Tiled mural by Mark Hogensen adds bold geometric patterns to San Pedro I

Alumnus Mark D. Hogensen developed a new mural for UTSA's San Pedro I that will start being installed today.

JULY 27, 2023 — “Discovery Enterprise,” the second of two murals slated for UTSA’s Downtown Campus, will be installed beginning today, creating a vibrant new destination for arts enthusiasts in San Antonio. Alumnus Mark D. Hogensen, M.F.A. ’90 developed the mural for San Pedro I, home of the university’s National Security Collaboration Center and the new School of Data Science.

“UTSA’s vision for growth in downtown San Antonio includes creating cultural connections to our buildings and spaces,” said UTSA Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President for Business Affairs Veronica Salazar. “These new murals present an exciting access point to artwork for UTSA students and community members in San Antonio. Bold art pieces enrich our community.”

Hogensen’s mural, which measures 58 feet long by 10 feet tall, will incorporate a recurring series of forms that represent the actual physical structure of San Pedro I. Running counter to that will be manipulated perspective passages meant to imply distance from the present in past and forward time frames. When fully installed, the mural will wrap around the northeast corner of San Pedro I, offering a progressive view of a limitless future in an arena of continual expansion.

“These new murals present an exciting access point to artwork for UTSA students and community members in San Antonio. Bold art pieces enrich our community.”

“Discovery Enterprise,” the second of two murals slated for UTSA’s Downtown Campus, will be installed beginning today.

Hogensen’s artistic approach employs heightened perspective and a bold palette, combining irregular shape and illusory form to create abstractions that appear to jump off the wall. Drawing parallels to architecture and landscape, his imagery evokes a sense of movement, encouraging viewers to traverse pseudo-geometrical forms and drift amidst bulbous shapes. His artwork often reflects historical references and utilizes textures and patterns in articulating shapes that are forced into uneasy associations.

“Investigating the realm of perception has always been at the forefront of my painting and drawing experience,” Hogensen said. “For me, art making has been and is about the interpretation, alteration and reorganization of expected perceptions. Each of the elements that make up our surroundings seemingly beg for a re-assignment or new orchestration.”

UTSA worked closely with the City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture to advance its public art mural project. The project began with a robust community engagement process enabling the university and its partners to collaboratively define its scope, themes and submission process. Centro San Antonio and the San Antonio River Authority supported the effort by participating on a dynamic review team made up of community members, internal staff and students. Five local judges made the final determination.

UTSA wanted San Pedro I’s murals to be educational, interpretive or tell a story reflecting the programs housed in the building.

“Realizing the enormous sweep of such a statement, I endeavored to capture the essence of discovery, collaboration, new knowledge and science through this composition that pushes and pulls upon the viewer as they make one discovery after another, as they visually sift through the multi-layered surface,” Hogensen said.

Hogensen began painting and drawing on irregularly shaped forms in the 1980s. He recalls feeling compelled to complete a gestural action that was limited by the edge or frame of a rectangle.

After many years of exploring, he returned to the traditional rectangular frame. Now, when he encounters a self-imposed drawn border, he says that he can accept or reject its “finality.” The frame or border becomes a device to draw behind, on top of or in some cases to spill out of.

“I am envious of the subtleties of illusionary space, the kinds of things that make you look twice—things that present themselves in a disguise,” he said.

UTSA Vice President for University Relations Teresa Niño says that this mysterious interplay is part of what makes Hogensen’s artwork so captivating.

“UTSA is committed to research and discovery, to teaching and learning – disciplines that exist to demystify and encourage thinking beyond the world we know,” Niño said. “This incredible mural will be breathtaking. It’s going to challenge the way that San Antonians and visitors perceive their environment, the same way our students think differently inside San Pedro I.”

San Pedro I is located at 506 Dolorosa St., just east of San Pedro Creek and a short walk from the downtown campus’ original footprint.

In May, local artist Cristina Noriega Sosa installed "I Wish, I Will," a mural on San Pedro I’s west façade. Noriega’s mural portrays a young Mexican-American girl making a wish on a dandelion, representing her dreams for the future. The artwork reinforces UTSA’s role as a Hispanic Serving Institution and symbolizes San Antonio’s roots and future.

— Christi Fish