Carlos Beltran Arechiga

Carlos Beltran-Arechiga paints implied and explicit structures which question the arrangement of the systems and policies that determine access and equity. Beltran- Arechiga uses his paintings to confront the promise of the “American Dream” and the “Promised Land” in a state of chaos and order; desolate and fertile. As a first generation Mexican-American immigrant, the artist populates his canvases with edifices that are meant to evoke the archetypal homes affirmed by the legacy of the “American Dream”.  

The creative process affords Carlos Beltran-Arechiga a space for contemplation, sifting, and reporting with derision, humor, and the suspicious hope for a time before fear and the loss of innocence. The artist uses his paintings as the ultimate vehicle to set questions forth. While the artist is interested in narrative, he thinks of painting as work of pre-verbal nature, greater than any word rendition, it is meant to incite emotions, meant to provoke reflection. It is important for Beltran-Arechiga to show the physical connection he makes with his works by enabling the hand-made marks. He engages with narratives dealing with social- political events as well as the hand imitating technology, imitating life.

Carlos Beltran-Arechiga (b. 1972, Mexico City, Mexico) received his Bachelor of Studio Arts from the Universidad de Guadalajara. Beltran-Arechiga has been the subject of solo and group exhibitions at The Torrance Art Museum (2023); the Los Angeles Mission College (2019); the Irvine Fine Arts Center (2019); The Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum (2018); the Bowers Museum (2017); and the Brand Art Center (2016).