We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carlos Beltran Arechiga a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Carlos, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

My artistic practice and need to create are embedded in my DNA and the time I spend in my studio every day affords me a space of possibilities for growth where I contemplate and deal with our human condition.

The act of painting presents a problem to be resolved and a sort of negotiation between the medium and myself. Although I don’t always “win” I do cherish the small victories, when a work surprises me and reminds me of my childhood and a time when all things were possible.

In addition to my painting practice as my main focus, I’m part of a network of LA-based curators focused on creating international curatorial exchanges between LA artists and artists from around the world.

And last but definitely not least, I’m an arts educator working with underserved children and this privilege definitely informs my practice in a meaningful way.

In conclusion, my artistic career is the only thing for me, not because it makes me “happy” sometimes it makes me feel the opposite, but because it gives me a profound purpose in life and allows me to contribute to the human condition in a positive manner.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have always known art would be my life path, as a 5-year-old I remember sitting down and spending hours browsing my grandfather’s art history encyclopedias mesmerized by the works of the masters from the Renaissance to the Minimalism of the 1970s. Fast forward to the early 1990s when I immigrated to the United States from Mexico, I made it a point to explore and learn about what was going on in the LA art scene. I must confess that my naive young self was one of those you hear about in told stories, the one who carried his small paintings and went soliciting at various galleries asking to have my work looked at, I know, I know, one should never do that, right? Well, I’m not too sure that’s always the case, and don’t get me wrong I don’t recommend you go out and do this today, but in doing this I was able to get my work to be shown and sold at a couple of galleries, perhaps I was very fortunate but that was my experience in getting my work shown and collected.

I’m a painter and curator, my works veer in and out of figuration and abstraction the paintings investigate the idea of Structures as a tool to define and determine access, equity, and the shaping of the human condition.
The work is meant to disrupt these structures with abstract gestural marks to challenge our preconceived notions of the American Dream or the Promised Land. I work in series that focus on different subjects, these can be current happenings or about the essential human condition, they exist in the in-between and in continuous flux.

Painting does not “solve problems”, I think some of the best paintings I have seen confront the viewer with problems and provide possibilities for resolution and interpretation.

I’m proud to see my work being shared with many people around the world and locally at Museums and institutions I follow like the Cheech Museum, TAM, and others in the United States and abroad, but most importantly, I’m proud of the community of local and international artists I’m part of.
I believe the art world is the most powerful when the artistic community grows together and supports each other and I feel fortunate I get to be part of that catalyst.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Problem-solving is creativity’s child, I shared earlier about my journey to get my work first shown and placed into collections and the galleries that supported the beginning of my practice were the best thing for it at that time, the work was well shown and placed, all was great until I needed to continue forward with my investigation of what I could do with painting and what its driving concepts should be. I allowed for that pivoting point to change the work and I was exhilarated by the possibilities, but this change in my work did not set well with the gallery as they expected me to produce the “same painting” and I could not bring myself to go back to it.

I had to leave the gallery that was located in Laguna Beach, CA to move the work forward not knowing if I would ever be able to show or place my work again, but my amazing wife encouraged and supported this decision, and yes, the work sat in my studio for a year as it developed, what we didn’t know is that this change would open doors for the practice in the LA art scene and the subsequent 18 years are now in the rearview mirror filled with a valuable sense of accomplishment.

So, dear friends, please follow what feels right, keep it honest, and continue to surround yourselves with good people who can help you find balance in your life!

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I mentioned before I’m an arts educator, and I get to see first-hand how an education in the arts shapes a human, it is a privilege to be able to serve underrepresented children with an arts education that fosters their social-emotional, creative, and academic development. I believe arts education during our formative years develops good humans, not good consumers, people who can get together to solve our biggest problems, with a love for nature and ourselves.

I think what society must do not to support artists and creatives but rather society itself, is to provide a holistic education at our schools that includes the arts as a common core subject, this will foster a human condition of balance, tolerance, and plentiful resources.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.carlosbeltranart.com
• Instagram: @carlosbeltranart