About
Carlos Flores (b. 1992 Guadalajara, Mexico) is an uncategorized artist, community organizer, curator, and arts administrator based on the Southwest Side of Chicago. He received his BFA from UIC in 2016 and has since received recognition and awards including 3Arts, United States Artists, The Luminarts Cultural Foundation, and the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures. Past exhibitions include the Hyde Park Art Center, Heaven Gallery, and Ox-Bow School of Art, with upcoming shows at The National Museum of Mexican Art and Roots and Culture. His work is informed by his experiences as a queer Latinx immigrant on the West Side of Chicago and brings viewers face to face with issues of environmental racism, displacement, gender, and race.
In addition to his visual arts practice, Carlos co-runs Chicago Art Department, a community art center in the Pilsen Neighborhood of Chicago. CAD offers residencies for twenty civically-minded artists and over 100+ free programs and exhibitions to the community annually. Leading programming and the larger organization has morphed into an extension of his studio and community practice. Carlos is very passionate about cultivating communities and artists to look at our city and country with a critical eye.
Carlos is a life-long gardener and recently launched a small scale urban flower farm in Archer Heights called Rocio Flower Farm. The micro farm, which runs out of his home, was inaugurated in the spring of 2022 and aims to be a form of ecological protest. Rocio Flower Farms grows primarily native plants and perennials from the Great Lakes Region that are combined with “weeds” collected from the industrial corridors of the city to create unique statement pieces with an environmental message.
WEBSITE & SOCIALS
carlflores.com
@cxrlxsflxrxs
@rocioflowerfarm
Education
2020 –
Visual Arts Certificate Program, University of Chicago Graham School
2016 –
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts, University of Illinois at Chicago
Residencies / Fellowships
2017 –
Ox-Bow School of Art Fall Residency, Saugatuck, MI
The Center Program, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
2016 –
Luminarts Visual Arts Fellow, Chicago, IL
LAUNCH Invitational Residency, Chicago Artists Coalition
Curated & Organized Projects
2022 –
Seeds In My Pocket 2022, Chicago IL
MDW Fair, Mana Contemporary, Chicago IL *forthcoming*
Heaven Gallery Nubes Art Fair, Chicago IL
Contra Corriente, Chicago IL
2021 –
Lit & Luz Festival at CAD, Chicago IL
Seeds In My Pocket, Chicago IL
2020 –
Long Time No See, Chicago IL
When We Fight We Win, Chicago IL
Tirar y Soltar, Chicago IL
2019 –
Caravana Mx, Chicago Cultural Center
Achievements / Awards
2022 –
Inaugural 3Arts Ignite Award in partnership with The Andy Warhol Foundation
2021 –
Actos de Confianza Award, National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, United States
Luminarts Project Grant, Chicago IL
DCASE IAP Grant, Chicago IL
2020 –
United States Artists Grant, Chicago IL
QTIBIPOC Artist Microgrant, FTP, Chicago, IL
Spark Grant, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL
2017 –
Full Scholarship, The Center Program, Hyde Park Art Center
Fall Artists Residency Stipend Award, Ox-Bow, Saugatuck, MI
2016 – 2017
Luminarts Fellowship Award, Luminarts Foundation, Chicago IL
Education Advisory Group member for the Chicago Artists Coalition
2016 –
UIC Faculty Award for Art, School of Art and Art History, University of Illinois at Chicago
Talent Tuition Award, School of Art and Art History, University of Illinois at Chicago
2015 –
Talent Tuition Award, School of Art and Art History, University of Illinois at Chicago
Exhibitions / Artist Talks
2022 –
Ofrenda A Los Arrancados, National Museum of Mexican Art *forthcoming*
MDW Fair, Mana Contemporary, Chicago IL *forthcoming*
Nubes Art Fair, Heaven Gallery, Chicago IL
POCAS SALON + Contra Corriente 2022, Chicago IL
2021 –
Roots and Culture Contemporary Art Center, Chicago IL *postponed*
2020 –
Artist Run Chicago, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago IL
We’ll Figure It Out, Chicago Art Department, Chicago IL
2019 –
Made In the Fab Lab, Polsky Exchange, Chicago IL
Post Practice, Chicago Art Department, Chicago IL
2017 –
Front & Center, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
2016 –
Project Zero Waste, Hostel Earphoria, Chicago, IL
Villarte, 11th annual Arts Festival, Chicago, IL
Luminarts Visual Arts Competition Exhibition, Union League Club of Chicago
As Little Defined As Anything Else, University of Illinois at Chicago
2014 –
Introspection: Anatomy of the Interior, 5th Floor Gallery, University of Illinois at Chicago