Marisa Morán Jahn to Create Next Great Hall Mural for Gateway Series at San Antonio Museum of Art

On view November 15, 2025-November 14, 2027

San Antonio, TX—November 6, 2025—The San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) is excited to announce that New York-based artist Marisa Morán Jahn has been selected to create a new mural in the Museum’s Great Hall for the second iteration of the Gateway series, an ongoing project that invites contemporary artists to activate SAMA’s main lobby. Jahn will be on site for an open studio on November 11, offering visitors a behind-the-scenes look at her creative process.

Titled TIPSY, Jahn’s immersive, site-specific installation was inspired by the Museum’s history as the former Lone Star Brewery. It explores the role of art and “spirits” (drinks made from distilled and fermented plants) in shifting perspective and communing with the divine or with others. TIPSY will be on view in the Great Hall from November 15, 2025, through November 14, 2027.

“Jahn’s installation will welcome visitors with a design that is playful and unexpected, opening minds for new conversations and experiences in the galleries,” said Lana Meador, Associate Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art. “Like the art collections of SAMA itself, TIPSY interweaves traditions from a vast range of cultures and geographies, while rooted in histories that are distinctly San Antonio.”

TIPSY features wine-colored paint on the foyer walls, referencing the Museum’s architectural dimensions, but rather than remain upright, instead slides off at an angle, spills onto the floor, and seeps around corners. There will also be vinyl graphic elements that connect revelry and rituals from around the world to regional history. 

“TIPSY refers to things we thought we knew but turns them on their side,” Jahn said. “The artwork behaves as if it’s ecstatic, or in an altered state, inviting us to see the Museum in a new way.”

Jahn was born in Texas to an Ecuadorian mother and Chinese father, frequently creating works that remix cultural icons to destabilize fixed ideas. Now based in New York City, she is a visual artist, filmmaker, transmedia producer, and the director of the Integrated Design Program at Parsons/The New School. She earned her BA from the University of California Berkley and an MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 

“Marisa brings a bold, imaginative installation to our Great Hall, one that draws from SAMA’s rich collection, the city’s layered history, and her own cross-cultural roots,” said Emily Ballew Neff, PhD, The Kelso Director at SAMA. “The spirit of revelry, joy, exuberance and the value of self-knowledge through changing perspectives is at the heart of TIPSY, a brilliant platform for introducing our visitors to SAMA.”  

Gateway was launched in 2023 with an installation by Carlos Rosales-Silva, an artist who was born in El Paso, Texas, and is currently based in New York.

“Art has a special way of connecting communities by offering perspectives through experiences. Bank of America is grateful to build upon our partnership with the San Antonio Museum of Art through our support of the Gateway series,” said Ventura Perez, Bank of America San Antonio President. “As guests walk through SAMA’s Great Hall, I hope Marisa Morán Jahn’s vibrant art inspires and energizes.”

To offer a unique glimpse into Marisa Morán Jahn’s creative process, SAMA will host an Artist Open Studio on Tuesday, November 11, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Visitors will have the opportunity to engage with Jahn as she works on the installation and participate in a Q&A at selected moments throughout the evening. Admission to the event is included with regular Museum admission. 

This project is made possible by Bank of America. 

Special thanks to Matter Surfaces and Bolon

   
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San Antonio Museum of Art: 
The San Antonio Museum of Art serves as a forum to explore and connect with art that spans the world’s geographies, artistic periods, genres, and cultures. Its collection contains more than 30,000 works representing 5,000 years of history. Housed in the historic Lone Star Brewery on the Museum Reach of San Antonio’s River Walk, the San Antonio Museum of Art is committed to promoting the rich cultural heritage and life of the city.
For more information, visit samuseum.org.

Media: 
For interviews, digital images, or additional information, please contact: 
Alma Solis, PR & Social Media Manager 
210.978.8113 | alma.solis@samuseum.org