My work resides on the fringes of personal and global history. My art and my life have often conflicted with conventional ways of thinking. The dissonant metamorphoses in my roles as a member of the existing social construct—local citizen, indoctrinee, migrant, soldier, artist, activist, prisoner, parolee, etc.—have provided the mental vocabulary to my illustrated speech. The visual satire in some of my work is infused with nonsensical perceptions of my reality and the world around me. Many of my work’s characters, situations, and events are extracted from historical imagery and transformed into allegorical visions.
I am also the chronicler of my life and my milieu.
EDUCATION
2003 BFA in Illustration, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
2001 AA in Art, Riverside City College, Riverside, CA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2009 Interventions, Porter Gallery, Long Beach, CA
2007 Life Stories, Huntington Park Library, Huntington Park, CA
2006 Discretions, Cal Poly Pomona Downtown Center, Pomona, CA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019 The U.S.ual COUP-lprits, John M. Pfau Library, California State University, San Bernardino, San Bernardino, CA
2012 Studio Option Graduate Walkthrough, Fine Arts Gallery, California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2011 The Figure—Faces, Curves, and Muscle: The Celebration of the Human Form” Colonnade Art Gallery, Pasadena, CA
2011 Chain Letter, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2011 Studio Option Graduate Walkthrough, Fine Arts Gallery, California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Worldly Visions, Majestical Roof, Pasadena, CA
2010 Ehrenberg’s Visual Score: A Collaborative Work of Art, Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), Long Beach, CA
2010 Best Foot Forward, Artillery and Ammo Gallery, Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA
2009 10th Annual Día de los Muertos, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Psychopathia Erotica, First Time LA, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Collective Visions, The Talking Stick, Los Angeles, CA
2009 4th Annual Los Angeles Latin Art Show, Art and Dance Academy, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Visions, Nino’s, Long Beach, CA
2009 Life in Los Angeles, Juanita’s Lounge, Los Angeles, CA
2008 Icons, Casita del Pueblo, Whittier, CA
2008 The Annual Frida Kahlo Exhibition, Picture This Gallery, Long Beach, CA
2008 3rd Annual Los Angeles Latin Art Show, Señor Fish, Los Angeles, CA
2007 Día de los Muertos Exhibition, The Folk Tree, Pasadena, CA
2007 AARP’s Diversity in the Arts, Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles, CA
2007 Celebrating Cultural Diversity, Regent Gallery North, Los Angeles, CA
2006 pARTy AuCTION, Center for the Study of Political Graphics, Union Station, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Baile de las Calaveras, JFerrari Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006 La Melodía de la Luna, Madrid Theater, Canoga Park, CA
2006 Arte Latino, San Diego Latino Film Festival, Expressions of Mexico Gallery, San Diego, CA
2006 The New Normalcy, Carlotta’s Passion Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Get Yer Ya-Yas Out, Carlotta’s Passion Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA
2005 Crafting the L.A. Experience, TarFest Festival of Film, Music, and Art, Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2005 Designer Showcase, Self Help Graphics & Art, Galería Otra Vez, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Latino Heritage Month, Center for the Arts Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Soft Core-Hard Core, ASTO Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004 The Artist Touch, Centre for the Arts, Pico Rivera, CA
2004 Espíritu, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
2004 Design Preview, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Leonardo Lorca, Interview, Nuestra Voz, KPFK Radio, Los Angeles, CA, June 2011.
Celina Benitez, Interview, Suplemento Comunitario, KPFK Radio, Los Angeles, CA, June 2011.
Statement Magazine, California State University, Los Angeles, 2011
“MFA Student’s Painting Makes ‘Statement’ at Colonnade Gallery,” CSULANet Spotlight, June 2011
Statement Magazine, California State University, Los Angeles, 2010
City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Latino Heritage Month Calendar and Cultural Guide 2008
Lowrider Arte, Lowrider Arte, August 2008
City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Latino Heritage Month Calendar and Cultural Guide 2007
Don Noyes-More, “Carlos Flores, When You Have Seen Too Much,” Downtown LA Life Magazine, June 2007
Eber Huezo, “Flores Pinta Expresiones Humanas,” La Prensa, Nicaragua, July 2007
Eber Huezo, “Los Seres Humanos Son una Pieza de Arte, Digno de Plasmarlo en la Pintura,” Revista Cultural Hispano
Americana, June 2007
Patricia Prieto, “Del Fusil al Pincel,” La Opinion, December 2006
Tito Lagos-Bassett, “Carlos J. Flores,” Nicas en el Exterior News, Los Angeles, CA, December 2006
Lilia Cabello, “Artist Captures Life’s Discretions,” University of La Verne Campus Times, November 2006
Ifeanyi Chijindu, “Pain Portrayed in Paintings,” The Poly Post, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona,
November 2006
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
2011 Visual Arts Award, Colonnade Gallery, Pasadena, CA
2007 Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition, Congresswoman Grace Napolitano, Norwalk, CA
2004 Certificate of Recognition, Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles, CA