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Artist Statement:

Carrillo’s works blend his reflections on contemporary happenings with the transparency of the art making practice of mashing-up drawing, sculpture, and installation techniques. Driven by formal material investigations and the exposed rawness of experimentation within his works, he often uses the atmospheric qualities of unlikely materials to draw in space. i.e., string, wires, bx-cables, conduit, shelves, and directional lighting.

He draws on the characteristics of strength, transparency, vulnerability, and symbolism of objects to help visually articulate his reflections of contemporary life. As he channels and distills the proliferation of information surrounding him, in his studio practice, he re-orders and uncatergorizes common found and domesticated objets. He systematically strips away, reduces, and carefully re-arranges elements of seemingly obsolete ready-mades, vintage technologies, and electrical components to create unexpectedly beautiful, yet often semi-hazardous objects and zones.

To date, his body of work resonates with yesteryear-futuristic dreams and subtly suggests to the viewer the importance of logging off and tuning in. 

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Inspirations:

Carrillo’s inspirations vary from the juxtaposed timelines of pop-culture and from art history.

With childlike wonderment, the handcrafted scale models and the primitive digital visual effects of 1980’s and 1990’s science fiction movies continuously inspire him. Some of his favorite Sci-fi movies that exude clever quirkiness are, “Batteries Not Included” directed by Matthew Robbins, “Edward Scissorhands” directed by Tim Burton, and “Time Bandits” and “12 Monkeys” both directed by Terry Gilliam.

Equally intriguing are the satirical and nonsensical Dada works of Marcel Duchamp and Jean Tinguely. However, his favorite sculptures are the gracefully precise and kinetic works of Alexander Calder and Jean Dubuffett’s incredible sculptures that he considered as drawings expanding into space.   

As for contemporary artists, the whimsical use of materials and spatial playfulness of Sarah Sze’s works always inspire. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Carlos is equally drawn to Sarah Oppenheimer’s form-based works that often disorient the viewers perceptions between architecture and space.