The Spanish artist Carlos Aires was born in 1974 in Ronda. After finishing the sculpture course in Fine Arts at the University of Granada, in 1997, he moved to the Netherlands and concluded his post-graduation studies at the Academia Fontys (Tilburg, Netherlands), in HISK (Antwerp, Belgium) and at the Ohio State University (USA), after which he returned to Spain. He presently lives and works In Madrid.

Carlos Aires is the author of a versatile work, in which he frequently uses daily objects (old vinyl records, plates, bills or coins, among others) forming detailed compositions presented on various media. With his research, Aires explores the human perception of reality and develops an aesthetic of ambiguity, portraying a disturbing truth with aesthetically composed and attractive images.

The references to Pop music are present in the objects he creates and also in various video works. With this process, the artist manages to captivate the spectator in an accessible way exposing, nonetheless, a disturbing and sometimes politically incorrect commentary in relation to the contemporary neo-liberal society. Thus, Aires addresses questions related to individuals who live on the margins of society and to the psychological impact of that lifestyle.

Aires has been the object of high recognition throughout his career. He received prestigious grants and awards, including: Omi Artist in residence (EUA), 1^st Prize Young Andalusian Artists (Spain), Belgium Young Art Award (Belgium, 2005); Edith Fergus Gilmore Award (USA), Generation 2008 Caja Madrid (Spain), Fulbright (USA), Walter Debrock Award (Belgium), Manuel Rivera Grant (Spain) and De Pont Atelier (Netherlands). He participated in countless group and solo exhibitions in galleries and institutions such as MACBA, Barcelona (2018), Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin (2018), Centrale for Contemporary Art, Brussels (2017), Centro Centro, Madrid (2017), WhiteBox, New York (2016) and Oporto Municipal Gallery (2016).

His work is represented in other relevant public collections, among which: ARTIUM (Spain), MACBA (Spain), Fondation Francès (France), ARTER (Turky), CAC (Spain), Maison Particulière (Belgium), Museum Biedermann (Germany), Progress Art (Saudi Arabia), Caja Madrid Collection (Spain), National Belgium Bank (Belgium), 21c Museum (USA), MAK (Austria), CAAC (Spain), Frans Masereel Centrum (Belgium), Space Collection (Belgium).

DC, April 2021

Gabriela Albergaria

Artworks

Parc Malou 15.31.162023

Carlos Aires

Rui Algarvio