For Carlos Estrada-Vega the process of cutting, sanding, drilling, magnetizing and coating thousands upon thousands of tiny wooden cubes with a combination of pigment, wax and limestone dust is only an act of preparation: an exercise to aid him in developing the discipline and focus required for his work.  The actual act of painting begins as he combines those blocks into a grand composition through a practice of meditation and observation.  Though each tiny component is considered a complete painting—a complete experience in and of itself—combined they inform one another, showing a trend of experiences whose diversity deepens and enriches the impact of the whole. Working against the urge to calculate and control the direction of the painting, the artist seeks to channel impulses and instinctual gestures that arise as he works, creating pieces that are as fresh as they are deeply honest. 

Carlos Extrada-Vega (b. 1955, Chihuahua, NM) lives and works in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Recent exhibitions include solo shows at the El Paso Art Museum (El Paso, TX) and the Museo Casa Chihuahua (Chihuahua, México.) Paintings by Estrada-Vega are in numerous public collections including that of the Museo Casa Chihuahua (Chihuahua, México); Arkansas Arts Center (Little Rock, AR); Long Beach Museum of Art (Longbeach, CA); Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR) and many others. 

_____

Lives and works in New Mexico

Education

1995-97
Painting, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont CA

1993
Summer Academic Research Internship, UC Santa Barbara, Graduate Studies Division

1993-95
Bachelors in Arts, Art/Religious Studies, CSU Bakersfield

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2015
Suite Color, Thatcher Projects, New York, NY

2014
About 20,000 Tones, William Siegal Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 

2012
Building a Painting, Thatcher Projects, New York, NY
Tanganyika, El Paso Art Museum, El Paso, TX
New Paintings, William Siegal Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2011
África, Museo Casa Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México

2009
Painting Compositions, Lausberg Contemporary, Toronto, Canada
Malerei, Galerie Sacksofsky, Heidelberg, Germany
New Paintings, William Siegal Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
New Paintings, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, IL

2008
Compositions & Drawings, Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York, NY
New Paintings, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, IL   

2007
About 4,000 Paintings, d.e.n. contemporary, Culver City , CA

2006
New Paintings, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, IL

2005
Between 12 and 5,000, d.e.n. contemporary, Culver City, CA
Between 12 and 8,000, Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York, NY
Sculptural Paintings, Riverside Museum of Art, Riverside, CA

2004
Paintings, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, IL
10 Paintings, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland. OR
4000 Paintings/14 Compositions, Sacksofsky & Bloch Gallery, Berne, Switzerland
4000 Paintings/10 Compositions, Conny Dietzschold Gallery, Sydney, Australia

2003
Malerei, Museum Katharinenhof, Kranenburg, Germany
Between 10 and 4,000 Paintings, Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York, NY
Between 10 - 4,000 Paintings, Hunsaker/Schelesinger Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
Squares and Cubes, Huntington Beach Art Center, Huntington Beach, CA
Between 10 and 4000 Paintings, Galerie Renate Schroeder, Cologne, Germany

2002
New Paintings, Galerie Renate Schroeder, Cologne Germany
Paintings, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, IL

2001
About 5,000 Paintings, Galerie Renate Schroeder, Cologne Germany
About 8,000 Paintings, Hunsaker/Schelesinger Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA

2000
by the power of two, Patricia Sweetow Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1999
“Cornelio,” Expanded Composition 1999, The DA Center for the Arts, Pomona, CA
Between 5-10,000 Paintings, Hunsaker/Schlesinger Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
Paintings, Earl McGrath Gallery, New York, NY

1998
Between 3-5,000 Paintings, Brian Gross Fine Art, San Francisco, CA

1997
Between 1,500-3,000 Paintings, Brian Gross Fine Art, San Francisco, CA     
Between 4-7,000 Paintings, Hunsaker/Schlesinger Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA

Selected Group Exhibitions

2015
Hotspots, Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York, NY

2014
Turn Up the Heat, Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York, NY

2012
Preview of New Work, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, IL
Building a Painting, Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York, NY

2011
Encaustic with a Textile Sensibility, Kimball Art Center, Park City, UT
White Hot, Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York, NY

2010
Capturing Dimensions, Art Forum Ute Barth, Zurich, Switzerland

2008
Re-Mix, Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York, NY

2005
Abstraction Pure and Impure, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 
Slice of White, Hunter College, New York, NY (catalog)

2004
Galerie Sacksofsky & Bloch, Berne, Switzerland
Current Lines, Islip Art Museum, Islip, NY
White on White, Patricia Faure Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1 CPW 45C NORTON, New York, NY
Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR

2003
Sueños y Encuentros: Latin American Masters from the Collection of the Long Beach Museum of Art. Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA    
Mirrors, Renate Schroeder Galerie, Cologne, Germany
Components, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR
Works on Paper, Conny Dietzschold, Australian Contemporary Art Projects, Sydney, Australia
Gallery View, Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York, NY

2002
New in Town, Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon
Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, IL
Tid Bits, Galerie Renate Schroeder, Cologne Germany
Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York, NY

2001
Raum fur Malerei, Cologne, Germany
Minimal Now, CSU, San Francisco, University Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA        
Three Painters, Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York, NY

2000
Galerie Renate Schroeder, Cologne, Germany
Hunsaker/Schlesinger Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA

1999
C.O.L.A. 1999, Los Angeles Municipal Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (catalog)
New Visions 23 Contemporary Artists, University Art Gallery, UCSD, La Jolla, CA

1997
Southern California Open Juried Exhibition, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA

1996
Embarrassment of Riches, Newport Beach Art Center, Newport Beach, Cab (catalog)

1995
Texas National, Stephen J. Austin Univ., Juror: Leon Golub, Nacogdoches, TX (catalog)

Professional Awards

1998-2000
City of Los Angeles Cultural Grant 09/98-06/99
Stuart and Niraj Katz, Studio/Residence/Stipend Grant, Paris France 09/99-04/2000

Selected Bibliography

Hassell, Matthew, Color in Transit: Building a Painting at Margaret Thatcher Projects, NY Arts Magazine, June 13, 2012
Daniela Woolf, “Encaustic with a Textile Sensibility” Waxy Buildup Press, 1st Edition April, 2010
Renee Harrison Drake, “Art Collection of The Consulate General of The United States of America”
Cd. Juarez, Chih. Mexico, Art in Embassies Program, 2010 (catalogue)
Miriam Quintana, “Carlos Estrada-Vega,” Tu  Revista Latina, Spring 2009, p. 14-15
Nys Dambrot, Shana. “Carlos Estrada-Vega: ‘About 4,000 Paintings’,” art ltd, May 2007
“Continuing and Recommended,” Art Scene, April 2007
Mojica, Jason. “Carlos Estrada-Vega,” Time Out Chicago, February 2-9, 2005 P. 56
Muckenfuss, Mark.  “3-D Paintings,” The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, CA, September 5, 2005 
Knight, Christopher. “A Theatise on Time in Stencil; Paintings that multiply,” Los Angeles Times, April 15, 2005
Cutajar, Mario.  ArtScene, April 2005, Vol. 24, No. 8, p. 18 & 19
Row, D.K.  “Art walk on wild side,” The Oregonian, March 4, 2004
Dehnen, Ruediger.  Malerei von Carlos Estrada-Vega, Niederrhein Nachrichten, Wochenende, Ausgabe Kleve/Goch, March 15, 2003
Spierings, Meike.  Bilder wie ein Ballett, NRZ, Kreis Kleve, Kultur im Kreis Kleve, Nr. 63, March 15/03 Grass, Matthias.  Kloetzchen leuchtender Farbe, Rheinshche Post, Grenzland Post, Feuilleton fur as Klever Land, Nr. 63, March 15, 2003
staff writer.  “Kloetzchen leuchtender Farbe,” Rheinshche Post, Grenzland Post, 1 Lokalseite, Nr. 63,   March 15, 2003
Pagel, David.  “From micro to the cosmic,” Los Angeles Times, March 14, 2003
Faust, Lily.  The New York Art World.com, February, 2003
Speer, Richard.  one review, Willamette Week, Visual Arts, February 26, 2003
Ollman, Leha.  “All-Too-Human moments in the Kienholze Drawings; Figuring it Out”, Los Angeles Times, March 9, 2001
Shank, Will.  What’s up at the galleries?  Bay Area Reporter, September 21, 2000
O’Connor, Thomas Patrick.  Santa Fe Institute Bulletin, (image), Fall 2000, Vol. 15, No. 2, p. 26 & 28
Belcove, Julie.  “The Agents Museum,” W. Magazine, (image), August 2000
Muchnic, Suzanne.  CAA Unveils Revamped Art Collection With Emphasis on Works by Local Artist, Los Angeles Times, April 19, 2000
Creative Artists Agency.  “Themes out of School:  Art & Education in Los Angeles,” 2000, p. 47
McGovern, Thomas.  Art Papers, September/October 1999, Issue 5, p. 61
Yarborough, Patricia.  “Portrait of an Artist,” Fringe of the Fringe Art Festival, DA Center for the Arts, September, 1999
Chavira, Adriana.  Carlos Estrada-Vega’s paintings highlight Fringe of Fringe Festival in Pomona, Daily Bulletin, September 7, 1999
Knight, Christopher.  Publicly Funded Artists Rise to the Challenge, Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1999
C.O.L.A. Individual Artist Grants, Cultural Affairs Department (catalogue) 1999. Pgs. 26-27
Greene, L.C.  “Plato, Monastic Life Shape Artist’s Work,” Daily Bulletin, May 8, 1999
Berry, Colin.  “Carlos Estrada-Vega: Between 3-5,000 Paintings, Art Papers, March-April 1999, Vol. 23; issue 2
Finkel, Jori, Over There, Express, August 15, 1997.
Baker Kenneth.  Estrada-Vega Expresses Abstract Affinity for Color,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 14, 1997.
Roche, Harry.  “Carlos Estrada-Vega,” San Francisco Bay Guardian, July 16, 1997.
Mendenhall, Lauri.  “An Embarrassment of Riches at the Huntington Beach Art Center, CoastMagazine, October 17, 1996, P. 24
Knode, Marilu.  An Embarrassment of Riches Catalogue, p. 8 Huntington Beach Art Center, 1996

Selected Collections

Museo Casa Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México
Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
Creative Artists Agency, Los Angeles, CA
Digital Genetechnologies, Inc., La Jolla, CA
Gonda (Goldschmied), Neuroscience and Genetics Research Center, UCLA, CA
Long Beach Museum of Art, CA
Mercedes-Benz, Las Vegas, CA
Museum Katharinenhof, Kranenburg, Germany
Neuberger & Berman, New York City, NY
Norton Family Foundation, Santa Monica, CA
Portland Art Museum, OR
The Oakland Museum, CA
University of California, Irvine, CA
University of California, Los Angeles, CA
University of California, Santa Cruz, CA
Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing NA, Los Angeles, CA