The College of Southern Nevada, School of Arts & Letters, and Department of Fine Arts will host a traveling exhibition of mixed media artworks by Central American-born, Nevada-based artist and College of Southern Nevada adjunct faculty, Orlando Montenegro. All That You Ever Wanted/Todo Lo Que Siempre Quisistes: A College of Southern Nevada traveling exhibition featuring the work of Orlando Montenegro, will open on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, and will travel throughout the Las Vegas Valley with showings on the CSN Charleston campus (July 1, 2025 – Oct. 31, 2025), the North Las Vegas campus (Nov. 1, 2025 – Feb. 28, 2026), and the Henderson campus (March 1, 2026 – June 30, 2026). A special Gallery Talk and Artist Reception with light refreshments will take place on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, at 6 p.m. in the North Las Vegas Campus Tyrone Thompson Student Union Art Gallery. The CSN Student Union Art Galleries are free, family-friendly, and open to the public.

Speaking of his life, Montenegro says, “I was born in Central America in the early 1980s. My father was a lawyer, and he got into some trouble, and my mother was an accountant, and she did not like the government at the time. They immigrated to the United States sometime in the late 80s because it seemed better economically, and they ended up working in casinos. I have two younger siblings who are nurses, and they are also married to nurses. I once almost passed out giving blood and looking at a documentary where there was blood, and I was not good at math in school, but I liked to draw. My Spanish vocabulary is not that good, but I can speak and read some of it at a basic level. I prefer to talk in English if I have to. It’s impressive how people can interpret words and images differently when they see things from their own point of view, and how their upbringing, education, and beliefs affect that point of view.”

Regarding his work, Montenegro continues, “We live in the richest country in the world, but it’s a pyramid scheme. I had surgery with insurance and paid an inflated amount, only to get another bill in the mail. I wish we had decent public transportation because gas is expensive, and people drive irresponsibly. I wanted to rent, but my mortgage is cheaper because I moved into a house before the pandemic. Home insurance and car insurance are also a scam, but I need them just in case. I don’t buy juice anymore, or cereal, or Mexican Coca-Cola. The price went up, and my Doctor said I should eat fruit and I should just drink water, because I need to worry about diabetes. He said juice is a scam.

I started using things like newspapers and food packaging because they relate to consumption and the economy. Food packaging is discardable, and it can be aesthetically pleasing depending on how it is designed. Advertisements can be beautiful or seductive, but the food flyers that I get in the mail are not considered beautiful. I am not saying they are either. I see some graffiti around town while driving, and I like the bold colors and line work. Some of it does not make sense and feels abstract or nonrepresentational. I don’t really remember what I thought when I first saw Andy Warhol’s soup can art in Professor Rico’s Art History class some twenty years ago. I am sure that at the time, I thought the book and his lectures were all gobbledygook because “art is supposed to be beautiful”.

The CSN Student Union Art Galleries are free, family-friendly, and open to the public. Gallery hours vary by campus and semester. Please visit https://www.csn.edu/student-unions for current hours of operation.

For more information, please call 702-651-4146 or visit http://www.csn.edu/artgallery.