Carlos Rolón
Carlos Rolón (b. 1970) is an American multidisciplinary artist whose paintings, sculptures, and immersive installations explore cultural identity, aspiration, beauty, ritual, and the visual languages of Latino and working-class communities. Born and raised in Chicago to Puerto Rican parents, Rolón draws deeply from the domestic interiors, decorative traditions, music, fashion, street culture, and family histories that shaped his upbringing. His work frequently incorporates ornate surfaces, floral motifs, mirrors, gilding, customized objects, and references to craft traditions, using decoration as a way to examine ideas of taste, class, belonging, and cultural memory. Moving fluidly between painting, sculpture, installation, and social practice, Rolón often collapses the distinction between fine art and vernacular culture, transforming familiar materials and environments into highly constructed works that address inclusion, migration, spirituality, and personal identity. His practice has also been shaped by the visual energy of hip-hop, punk, disco, boxing, and street culture, influences that first emerged in his early work and continue to inform his approach to material and display. Rolón has exhibited internationally at institutions including the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, the Bass Museum of Art, and the New Orleans Museum of Art, and his work is held in collections including the Brooklyn Museum, El Museo del Barrio, and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. He lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
Available works
2023
Archival pigment inks with high gloss varnish on Innova Etching cotton rag 315 gsm fine art paper
16 x 16 inches
Edition of 30
2023
Archival pigment ink print, hand varnished on Innova Etching cotton rag 315 gsm fine art paper
58 x 38 inches
Edition of 20
Golden Caribbean (Caribe Dorado) III, 2023
Archival pigment inks with high gloss varnish on Innova Etching cotton rag 315 gsm fine art paper
16 x 16 inches
Edition of 30
2023
Archival pigment ink print, hand varnished on Innova Etching cotton rag 315 gsm fine art paper
38 x 58 inches
Edition of 20
Year: 2019
Medium: Gouache, Watercolor and Acrylic Paint on Paper Mounted Aluminum Board
Size: 20 x 20 in.
2023
Archival pigment inks with high gloss varnish on Innova Etching cotton rag 315 gsm fine art paper
16 x 16 inches
Edition of 30
2023
Archival pigment inks with high gloss varnish on Innova Etching cotton rag 315 gsm fine art paper
16 x 16 inches
Edition of 30
Year: 2019
Medium: Gouache, Watercolor and Acrylic Paint on Paper Mounted Aluminum Board
Size: 20 x 20 in.
Year: 2019
Medium: Gouache, Watercolor and Acrylic Paint on Paper Mounted Aluminum Board
Size: 20 x 20 in.
Year: 2017
Medium: Archival pigment inks on Crane, Museo Max, 365 gsm fine art paper
Size: 46 x 35 inches (117 x 89 cm)
Edition: 30
Unframed