Mauro Carrera
Location: College of DuPage
Hometown: Fresno, California
Sponsored by: Arte America
Mauro Carrera is a multidisciplinary artist who focuses on murals and public art practice. Mauro was born in Yanga, Veracruz and migrated with his family to Fresno, California at age five. His upbringing in a predominantly Mexican farm working community helped shape Mauro's artistic vision from a young age.
At the age of 16 Mauro began his exploration with graffiti art. Shortly after he began learning muralism under veteran Chicano artist Fernando Hernandez and John F Sierra who were his art teachers at Roosevelt High School of the Arts in Fresno. Early in his career he adopted a mixed media approach to painting. He then carried this approach as he went on to study painting at California State University Fresno.
Over the last 15 years Mauro has developed an extensive portfolio with a wide range of artistic projects and works ranging in studio works, arts education, and public art/community participatory art. Mauro's mural work extends all over the California San Joaquin Valley into many small rural communities and in the greater state of California. Mauro has also painted murals in Seattle, Salt Lake City, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York City. Outside of the United States, Mauro has painted murals in Vancouver BC, Canada, Tijuana, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Oaxaca City and San Cristobal de las Casas Chiapas.
Since 2022 Mauro has split his residence between Philadelphia and Fresno. Mauro's practice now continues to expand in the eastern United States as he works with organizations such as Philadelphia Mural Arts.
Title of Work: Past, Present, Future, lol
Description of work: Pacman eating maiz, rocks emitting wifi signals, and a pixelated portrait of a contemporary youth with Mesoamerican ceremonial headwear are some of the images planted in this piece where I attempted to put together my take on the concept of Past, Present, and Future... Lol. Representing the past is a portrait of an elder. He may have worked the land all his life, he might have written poetry or maybe he sang corridos, huapangos, or sones Jarochos. We might not know when he lived but he was a descendant of the mother culture of Mesoamerica. I too in some way am a descendant of the Olmec culture, and here I gave myself permission to try to create a playful gathering of images to also recognize that I am a contemporary human and artist. Maybe I am the Pacman eating maiz everyday via the Highway 99 crossing Central California near the Sierra Nevada. That Pacman might continue its trajectory and then maybe find how cyclical it all was.
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Timeline of Events
Artists in Mexico have begun painting and 15 national artists will arrive in May of 2024 to paint 15 heads here in DuPage County on-site at the McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage. This exciting international exhibition has already begun and will be completed in June of 2024.
Get Involved!
Artists can only participate by way of a sponsorship. Local, state and private institutions in the US or Mexico are invited to join in this unique opportunity to showcase modern-day murals reflecting Mexican American culture and regional interpretational art. We are confident that by participating in this project as a sponsor, you will be fulfilling the mission of your organization. Sponsors will be a part of a once in a lifetime opportunity to collaborate with multiple entities and organizations around North America, which can bring more awareness and support to your organization’s efforts. We are working together for one cultural, artistic, and educational purpose that will bring so many people together in a very unique way. Additionally, you will be supporting one of your local artists taking part in a major career opportunity that promises unique experiences, enhancement of their artistic skills, and a chance to display their talents on a monumental canvas. What an amazing opportunity!