Carlos "Dzine" Rolón
Chicago, USA, 1970
Biography Details
Painter, muralist, installation artist, graphic designer, and culturalpop music empresario. Invited to the Venice Biennale in 2007, he has shown his work on almost every continent, including Africa. With no formal education in art, he began by doing graffiti. He is the owner of an experimental record label in Chicago, where he works with world-famous DJs and producers. His paintings, murals, and installations explore connections between the visual and the audible, specifically contemporary electronic music; he creates multi-layered patterns of brilliant colors mixed with industrial materials such as Envirotex, a thick translucent substance used in lamination, and tiny glass beads (in collaboration with designer Maya Romanoff). With these materials, his abstract painting, whose referents are urban, noisy, the funk subculture, and graffiti, takes on a sensual, harmonious quality that seems to make the many layers, reverberations, and vibrations of musical frequencies visible.
Artist Statement
As an artist Dzine is interested in visually representing the effects of sound and music in his paintings. He is particularly inspired by the strategies employed by Hip Hop musicians and DJs, such as sampling and shuffling. His multi-layered paintings visually vibrate with his use of bright colors, textured surfaces, and abstract and biomorphic forms simulating the effects of how a DJ lays down a track, beat over beat, shuffling numerous sounds and tracks one over the other.
Formation
Education
1989
- Columbia College, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Professional Experience
2011
- Professor. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Exhibitions
Solo Shows
2014
- Dzine: Born Carlos Rolon, 1970, Paul Kasmin, New York; Salon 94, New York, United States
- Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Leeahn Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2013
- Victory, Public Functionary, Minneapolis, Minnesota; The Dallas Contemporary, Dallas, Texas, United States
2012
- Imperial Nail Salon, Galerie Henrik Springmann, Berlin, Germany
- Phenomenon, Deptford X, London, England
- La Pelanda,Centro Di Produzione Culturale, Installation and Performance, Rome, Italy
2011
- Imperial Nail Salon, Salon 94, New York, United States
- Get Nailed at the New Museum, New Museum, New York, United States
- Zeniths and Daytons, Galerie Zidoun, Luxemburg
2010
- Voodoo, Leo Koenig Projekte, New York, United States; Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna, Austria
- Posse, Flint Institute of Arts, Michigan, United States
2009
- Bass Museum of Art, Miami, Florida, United States
- Love & Loyalty, Leeahn Gallery, Daegu, Korea
2008
- The Beautiful Struggle, Deitch Projects, New York, United States
- Emily Murphy Contemporary, Madrid, Spain
- Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois, United States
2007
- Contemporary Arts Society, Rome, Italy
- Museum Het Domein, Sittard, Netherlands
2006
- Stealing Dreams, SCAI The BathhouseShiraishi Contemporary, Tokyo, Japan
- Somewhere over the Rainbow, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Just Kidding, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, United Kindom
- Beautiful Otherness: Dzine, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- SpaceJungle, Fundament Foundation, Tillburg, Netherlands
2005
- Dzine: Punk Funk, Contemporary Museum St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States
2004
- Staring at the Sun, Moniquemeloche, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Gangster Boogie, Palais de Tokyo, París, France
- A Solo Project by Dzine, Illinois State Museum Gallery, Chicago, Illinois; University of Missouri, Missouri; Gallery 210, St. Louis; Illinois State Museum, Lockport, Illinois, United States
- Dzine,Equal Gallery, Osaka, Japan
- Beautiful Things, SCAI The BathHouseShiraishi Contemporary, Tokyo, Japan
- Beautiful Otherness, ARCO ‘04, Madrid, Spain
2003
- Alley Oop, Institute of Visual Art Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United Statesv
- Tokyo Boogie, University of Alabama Visual Arts Gallery, Birmingham, Alabama, United States
- Galería Carlos Irizarry, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2002
- Beat Junkie, Chop Shop, Moniquemeloche Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Sampler, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois, United States
2001
- Suckerpunch, Spaces-Spacelab, Cleveland, Ohio, United States
- Remix 111, Minna Gallery, San Francisco, California, United States
2000
- The Red Sessions, Cristinerose Gallery, New York; Thomas Masters Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, United States
1999
- When painting meets music, Colette, Paris, France
- Suckerpunch, CSPS Legion Arts, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States
1998
- Maison Francaise- French Cultural Centre, Nairobi, Kenya
1997
- Lydon Fine Art, Chicago, Illinois, United States
1994
- Beret International Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Group Shows
2013
- The concept of Baroque in Contemporary Art, Galerie Henrik Springmann, Berlín, Germany
- In God We Trust, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland
- Homebodies, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Vial, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- On Painting, Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
2012
- INSITU, EXPO CHICAGO, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- The Haberdashery, Eric Firestone Gallery, East Hampton, New York, United States
- Interconexiones, Lecturas curatoriales de la colección del MAPR, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2011
- Experience Pommery #9 (La Fabrique sonore), Domaine Pommery, Reims, France
- Write Now: Artists and Letterforms, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Commercial Break, Garage Center for Contemporary Culture and POST, 54th Venice Biennale, Venecia, Italy
- Geared: The Culture of Bicycles, Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Idaho, United States
- VOCES Y VISIONES: Signs, Systems and the City in El Museo del Barrio’s Permanent Collection, El Museo del Barrio, New York, United States
2010
- Legal Tender, Martha Otero Gallery, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Living in Evolution, Busan Biennale, Busan, South Korea
- Viva La Revolución: A Dialogue with the Urban Landscape, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, California, United States
- (I Can) Feel the Pulse, MAMA, Rotterdam, Netherlands
2009
- Stages, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, Francia; Deitch Projects, Nueva York; O.H.W.O.W, Miami, Florida, United States
2008
- Not So Minimal, Collection Vanmoerkerke, Oostende, Belgium
2007
- A Poem about an Inland Sea, Ukrainian Pavilion, 52nd Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
- Carribean Encounters, Brooklyn Museum, New York, United States
- Public Image, Painting the City, Fundament Foundation, Tilburg, Países Bajos
- Barrio Dreams, Museum Heit Domein, Sittard, Netherlands
- Generations U(S)A, Pinchuck Art Center, Kiev, Ucraine
- Infinite Island, Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, United States
- Simply Beautiful, Laboral Centro de Arte, Gijon, Spain
- Bang, Contemporary Arts Society, Roma, Italy
- Contexto puertorriqueño: del rococó colonial al arte global, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2006
- Spank the Monkey, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, United Kindom
- New Territories: On Youth Culture, Carla Arocha & Dzine, ARCO 06’, Project Space, Spain
- Observatorio, Museo de las Ciencias Príncipe Felipe, Valencia, Spain
2005
- Lost in Music, Johnson County Community College, Nerman Museum of Art, Overland Park, Kansas, United States
- Simple things, Ruby Osorio y Dzine, Galería Candela, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2004
- None of the Above: Contemporary Work by Puerto Rican Artists, Real Art Ways, Hartford, Conneticut, United States; Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Stop & Stor: New Painters, LUXE Gallery, New York, United States
2003
- Painting by Design, Wayne State University Gallery, Detroit, Michigan, United States
- Sk8 on the wall, Rocket Gallery, Tokyo; Parco Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
2002
- Galerie Valerie Cueto, Paris, France
- Search For Love: Dj Cam, Dzine, Judy Ledgerwood (cd musical),Galería 312, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Mixer, Moniquemeloche Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Chicago Nascar Project,Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois,United States
2000
- XhibitionTransition, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Homewrecker, Moniquemeloche Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, United States
1998
- Chicago Artists ’98, Gallería 312, Chicago, Illinois, United States
1997
- Eee-motional, Depaul University Art Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- The Community Collects: Latin American and Latino Art from Private Bay Area Collections, The Mexican Museum, San Francisco, California, United States
1996
- Crossing Paths, Galerie Michel Gillet, París, France
1993
- Abstract: Chicago, Klein Art Works, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- World Tattoo Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, United States
1992
- Beret International Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Awards, Distinctions and Achievements
2007
- Grant. Joan Mitchell Painting and Sculpture Award, New York, United States
1999
- Residency. Andy Warhol Foundation, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States
1998
- Residency. City of Chicago Sister Cities International Program, Nairobi, Kenya
1995
- Grant. National Endowment for the Arts, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Collections
- City of Chicago Public Art Collection, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Museo del Barrio, New York, United States
- Victor Pinchuk Foundation for Contemporary Art, Kiev, Ucraine
- Brooklyn Museum, New York, United States
- Collection Vanmoerkerke, Oostende, Belgium
- Museum Het Domein, Sittard, Netherlands
- Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, California, United States
- Nerman Museum of Art, Kansas City, Kansas, United States
- Pinchuk Art Centre, Kiev, Ucraine
- Yuz Art Foundation, Shanghai, China
Bibliography
Newspapers
Álvarez Lezama, Manuel. “Plástica. None of the above: diversiones y provocaciones”. Dialogo (San Juan, PR), febrero-marzo, 2005.
Thorson, Alice. “Hitting a High Note”. The Kansas City Star (Kansas, EU), 17 de marzo de 2005.
Bonetti, David. “Fresh Paint”. St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, MO), 17 de marzo de 2005.
Yates, Iva. “Art by Contemporary Puerto Rican Artists at MAPR”. Caribbean Business (San Juan, PR), 20 de enero de 2005.
Cotter, Holland. “Art in Review: None of the Above, Contemporary Art from Puerto Rican Artists. New York Times (Nueva York, EU), 4 de junio de 2004, p. 29.
Pozuelo, Abel. “El gran festín de Project Rooms”. El Cultural, 17 de febrero de 2004.
Trelles, Mercedes. “Ninguna de las anteriores”. El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR),20 de marzo de 2005.
Rodríguez, Jorge. “Instalación en MAPR”. El Vocero (San Juan, PR), 22 de enero de 2005, pp. E-10
“SunCom Art Nites are an aclectic delight”. The San Juan Star (San Juan, PR), 18 de octubre de 2007.
Magazines
“Monique Meloche Gallery Profile”. Design & Architecture Magazine (Chicago, IL), vol. 1, núm 1, junio-julio de 2004, 99. 22-25.
Web
Lamb, William. “A city on the move” UsaToday.com, 4 de marzo de 2005.
Robinson, Walter. “Report from Madrid”. artnet.com, Magazine Reviews, 17 de febrero de 2004.