Religious Experience: OSU professor’s exhibition features centuries-old sacred art never seen in the U.S.
As the world slowed down in the early months of 2020, Oklahoma State University’s Dr. Cristina González was finding momentum in her corner of art history. An expert in colonial Latin American art, González specializes in New Spain, which was a viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire that existed from 1521-1821 and included Mexico, Central America and the southwestern United States. So, when González’s former OSU colleague, Dr. Mark White, approached her at the beginning of the pandemic about creating an exhibition for the New Mexico Museum of Art — of which he had just become executive director — she leaped at the chance to showcase Catholic sainthood and relevant artworks during the New Spain era.
