Carlos Arturo Arias
Artist Statement
I find objects, moments, or persons that relate to a story, political situation, or family issue and I try to connect them through sculpture, paint, and drawings.
My process is guided by the details of the theme or narrative.
I use crucial aspects of a concept and make them my focal points in a sculpture, painting, or drawing. My work deals with socially driven ideas but I don’t put emphasis on final conclusions and enlightening messages. My intention is not to change minds or improve the world. I work simply with what is familiar.
The transition from idea to completed artwork is the highest benefit. I am a slave of process and technique.
Biography
Chicho, Cuba 1938
Irma, Ecuador 1941
Birth, Hells Kitchen, NYC 1974
Thayer St, Inwood, NYC 1974
Valentine Ave, Bronx, 1978
Carmen, 1978
P.S. 46, Bronx 1979
Pencil Drawing, Abuela Carmela, 1982
Graffiti, markers and black books, 1984
Altar boy, St Elizabeth Church, NYC 1986
Benz tag name, given by Chen FK, 1987
173rd Street, Washington Heights NYC1988
Art and Design High school rejection, 1988
George Washington High School, 1989
Kool G Rap, Rakim 1988
George Orwell, Nineteen eighty-four, 1989
Graffiti, Spray paint, 1989
Met Food Supermarket, Bronx NYC 1989
Vandalism Charge, Subway NYC, 1989
Fine Fare Supermarket, LES, NYC1989 lo
Vandalism Charge, Delancey St. LES, NYC 1990
Vandalism Charge, Subway NYC, 1990
High school drop out, 1990
Air Brush, 1990
Hector Lavoe, Ismael Rivera, 1990
Bens Tattoo, 1991
Anil Gupta, 1992
Corporate Slave, WORLD TRADE CENTER, 1993
Nas, Black Thought, 1994
GED diploma, 1995
Only built for Cuban Linx, 1995
Cliff White Machine, 1995
Malcolm, Autobiography 1996
Che, The Motorcycle Diaries, 1997
Picasso, Dali, and Matisse 1997
Acrylic, watercolor, and oil, 1997
Borough of Manhattan Community College, 1997
Karl Marx, 1997
1st painting sold, 1998
Tanaka Tattoo, Mt Eden, Bronx NYC 1999
Lenin, The highest state of Capitalism 1999
1st portrait tattoo, 1999
Eduardo Galeano, 2001
Caliente tattoo, 207th, 2002
Pamela Washington, 2002
Greenwich Village Tattoo, 2002
Jean Michel Basquiat, 2002
Sunset Park Tattoo, Brooklyn NYC 2002
Mickey Sharpz Machine, 2003
Auguste Dominique Ingres, 2003
Electric City Tattoo, Schenectady 2003
Lucky Tattoo, Albany, NY, 2004
Diego Rivera, 2005
Children shelter art instructor, Albany, NY 2005
Rhinoceros Funk, comrade ideology 2005
Cusco, Peru, Tattooing 2005
Abimael Guzman, 2005
SUNY Albany Undergrad, 2006
Alberto Giacometti, 2006
1st Sculpture sold, 2006
Cuban pilgrimage, 2008
Taylor Baldwin, 2009
Alexis Leyva Machado, 2009
Coffee, 2011
Adjunct Drawing Instructor, Albany, NY 2011
Built 1st tattoo machine, 2012
Mike Giant, 2012
SUNY Albany Graduate, 2013
Studio Museum in Harlem rejection, 2013
Torrio Artist residency in Italy rejection, 2013
Works of Marks, Washington Heights NYC 2013
Sculpture studio, Sheridan St, Albany, NY 2013
Harlem Art Flux exhibit, 2015
RIP Sean Price, 2015
Shag Built Machine, 2017
Degenerate free street art, 2019
1st digital artwork sold, 2019
FIT Adjunct drawing instructor rejection, 2019
30 years of tattooing, 2021