Presented by Axle Contemporary in collaboration with the 12th SITE SANTA FE International: Once Within a Time, this activation features graphic reproductions of three influential works by Luis Tapia: A Slice of American Pie, 2008; Nopal de los Desaparecidos (Madre Tierra Never Forgets), 2024; and Barrio Barbie (La Amy), 2019. Together, these works address themes of cultural identity, migration, and the U.S.–Mexico border, highlighting the urgency, memory, and humanity of the issues. 
 
A Slice of American Pie opens on November 15, 2025, alongside the launch of the Once Within a Time catalogue, and runs through January 12, 2026. 

A uniquely gifted sculptor and venerated local artist, Luis Tapia through his evocative artwork directly addresses the pressing issues of current affairs by utilizing the visceral power of beauty and humor. Tapia has been elucidating the themes of injustice and cultural trauma for decades. His artistic practice is rooted in the centuries-old local tradition of the Santero, an important figure who created the altarpieces in the Catholic churches of New Mexico’s towns and villages. Though Tapia began his career within this time-honored religious tradition, he broke out of its bounds long ago. Instead, he brought the saints out among the people—into Santa Fe, the American Southwest, and beyond.
 
In this latest collaboration with the 12th SITE SANTA FE International: Once Within a Time, Axle Contemporary will present Luis Tapia works that tap into the urgency of the political moment. Luis Tapia: A Slice of American Pie features three seminal works remixed and reimagined: The original A Slice of American Pie (2008) is a seventeen-and-a-half foot long "mural" painted directly onto the sliced-off passenger side of a 1963 Cadillac. Reworked for this exhibition, a full-scale reproduction of the mural will be affixed to the exterior of Axle's mobile artspace. The two sides of Tapia’s 2024 Nopal de los Desaparecidos (Madre Tierra Never Forgets) will be reproduced as a wheat-pasted mural on the other side of Axle’s vehicle. Finally, a reworking of his 2019 Barrio Barbie (La Amy), originally a twenty-inch tall sculpture, will grow into a life-size figure that will be displayed in Axle’s interior exhibition space.

A Slice of American Pie, 2008. Painted metal, 56 x 210 x 23 in., 700 lbs. Collection of the National Hispanic Cultural Center Art Museum, Albuquerque; museum purchase funded through Art in Public Places, New Mexico Arts, New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. Photo © Addison Doty.

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Nopal de los desaparacidos (Madre Tierra Never Forgets), 2024. Carved and painted wood, 48.5 x 32.5 x 14.5 in. Collection of the National Museum of the American Latino. Photo © James Hart.

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Barrio Barbie (La Amy), 2019. Carved and painted wood, 19½ x 5½ x 5½ in. Collection of Maurice M. Dixon, Jr. Photo © James Hart.