Carlos Rolón/Dzine

Carlos Rolón, born in 1970 in Chicago, is celebrated for his diverse, multi-disciplinary artistic practice. His work delves into a wide range of themes, including craft, ritual, beauty, spirituality, identity, and their intricate connections to art history and institutional frameworks. Coming from a Puerto Rican background, Rolón's roots provide a fertile ground for exploring personal concepts, particularly addressing issues of inclusion, aspiration, and cultural identity. 

Inspired by his childhood memories, Rolón examines how households adapt to new American middle-class lifestyles. Homes, walls, and furniture serve as canvases adorned with a vibrant interplay of color, texture, patterns, and items integrated into domestic spaces to evoke a profound sense of yearning. Rolón translates these observations into a hybrid language that spans paintings, works on paper, sculpture, social practice, and site-specific installations. These diverse creations, crafted from an array of materials, not only prompt self-reflection but also symbolize rich cultural meanings, fostering community engagement and effectively bridging the gap between public and private realms.

Rolón's artistic exploration extends to the dynamics of cultivated settings and social barriers, investigating their relationship to postcolonial spaces. His work occupies a space that is simultaneously melancholic, excessive, and exuberant, existing in a realm poised between celebration and regret. By inviting viewers into discourse and discussion, his art encourages a deeper engagement with the work. 

Over the course of his career, Rolón has held solo exhibitions at major institutions, including The Dallas Contemporary, the Bass Museum of Art in Miami, the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, UK, the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, the Museo de Arte de Ponce in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the CAM Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis. His work has also been featured in group shows at renowned venues like The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Marta Herford Museum in Herford, Germany, the Museum Het Domein in Sittard, The Netherlands, the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, and the Museo del Barrio in New York, among others.

In 2007, Rolón represented Ukraine in the 52nd Venice Biennale and is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award for Painting and Sculpture. His works are prominently featured in public collections, including institutions such as the Bass Museum of Art in Miami, the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the City of Chicago Public Art Collection, the Deagu Art Museum in Deagu, the Museo del Barrio in New York, the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico, the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico in San Juan, and numerous others around the world.