Carlos Rolón
Region: Midwest
Rolón has been recognized for his elaborately crafted paintings,
ornate sculptures, and works that come out of American,
Latino, and uniquely based subcultures. His studio practice
investigates pop culture, craft, ritual, beauty, and its relationship
to art history, subculture, appropriation, and the institution.
As a first-generation immigrant of Puerto Rican descent, the
artist creates objects that examine the concepts of luxury
and craft-making to explore questions of identity, integration,
and aspiration. He often addresses his biography by melding
memory and the imaginary with carefully crafted, hybrid works
that are playfully situated between the contradictory worlds
of conspicuous consumption and urban artifact. The artist
often channels this approach with site-specific installation
work, vivid large-scale paintings, and ornate sculptures in
various materials, expanding on ideas of self-reflection and
imagined luxury. The works ultimately produce a hybrid
language of social practice, painting, and sculpture, inviting the
viewer to engage in discourse and discussion.