Buentello-Olivo grew up in Mexico and moved to the United States to pursue higher education,
initially intending to study interior design. However, she received a scholarship to pursue a
degree in Studio Art at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Upon earning her Bachelor of
Arts, she went on to complete a Master of Arts in Art History at the University of Texas at San
Antonio. Her master’s thesis focused on Juan O'Gorman's San Antonio mosaic mural, The
Confluence of Autochthonous Civilizations, reflecting her deep interest in Mexican muralism.
She is currently pursuing a second Master’s degree in Museum Studies at Harvard University,
expected in May 2025, where her capstone project will explore the underrecognized
contributions of women artists to 19th-century Mexican painting, with a focus on costumbrismo
and bodegones (still life painting).
Her broader research explores the intersection of 19th-century European and Latin American art
exchanges, analyzing how societal paradigms and political shifts shaped both the rise of
modernism and the construction of national identity in Latin America.
Buentello-Olivo has collaborated with institutions such as the McNay Art Museum and the San
Antonio Museum of Art in various capacities as an intern, volunteer, and graphic design
freelancer. At the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW), she has taught a variety of Art History
courses, including Masterworks of Art, Art History: Renaissance to Modern, The Art of Mexico,
and Women in Art History. She currently teaches the online format of Renaissance to Modern.
In addition to her academic and curatorial work, Buentello-Olivo is a practicing artist
specializing in painting, printmaking, and graphic design. Her current creative projects explore
the intersection of technology and art through iPhoneography and bookmaking, blending traditional techniques with modern innovations.
B.A. Studio Arts, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 1997
M.A., Art History, University of Texas at San Antonio, 2007
M.L.A. (ALM) in Extension Studies, Museum Studies, Harvard University, Expected 2025
2022-Present: Lecturer in Art History, University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas (online course)
2006-2012: Adjunct Faculty Professor of Art History, University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas
October-November 2006: Assistant Curator, Instituto Cultural Mexicano
April-August 2006: Museum Registrar, The Alameda Museum in affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution
January-April 2006: Latin American Art Curatorial Intern, San Antonio Museum of Art
August 2000-August 2001: Education Intern, The McNay Art Museum
March-April 2012: The Gaia Factory Exhibition
June-August 2010: Contra Corriente: Mexicanas in the USA Exhibition
November 2008: “Chocolate at the San Antonio Museum of Art,” Glasstire Texas Visual Art Online
Magazine
February 2005: Guest Lecturer, “Mexican Muralists,” The McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas
September 1998: Chromaform: Color In Sculpture, “Thomas Glassford,” University of Texas at San
Antonio
2002: Mitchell A. Wilder Award, Texas Association of Museums
1997: President’s List, TAMU-Corpus Christi
1997: USAA All-American Scholar Collegiate Award
Fall 1996/1997: Dean’s List, TAMU-CC
1996-1997: Dougherty-Carr Foundation for the Arts Scholarship, TAMU-Corpus Christi
Fall 1995/Spring 1996: Dean’s List, University of Texas at Brownsville
1992: Scholastic Art Awards, Honorable Mention, Texas Tech University, Lubbock