Juan Carlos Pinto
Frida
Mixed media
24 “ x 18 ”
2025
About
Juan Carlos Pinto (b. 1968) is a Guatemalan-born artist and art historian based in New York City. Having lived in Brooklyn for over 12 years, Carlos Pinto has made many public artworks, often creating with materials from the streets of New York, such as discarded glass, plastic, and pieces of pottery. Migration is a recurring theme throughout his work. Pinto leans towards motifs such as birds to portray the migration of animals and peoples across regions as a natural occurrence of life. He is largely inspired by the birds he sees near his home in Brooklyn's Prospect Park.
Pinto’s works include portraits of celebrities and animals, mainly birds and fish. He renders them in collages created with recycled MTA MetroCards. His work encompasses other media such as tile work and painting. Pinto's striking mosaic collages serve as a response to an uptick in societal tensions related to migration, specifically relating to attitudes towards immigrants in New York City. Juan Carlos Pinto’s art alludes to playfulness and an underlying need to be an active member of society.
CV
Solo Exhibitions 2021, "Metrocard Art by Carlos Pinto", Ilon Art Gallery, New York, NY 2021, "Tracking Flight: The Metro Card Mosaics of Juan Carlos Pinto", Van Der Plas Gallery, New York, NY Group Exhibitions 2025, "Joyful Apocalypse", Van Der Plas Gallery, New York, NY 2025, "Summer Music Icons: Portraits by William John Castello, Juan Carlos Pinto, Kevin Myer and Liz Marotti", Oceanus New York, New York, NY 2025, "It’s Rock N’ Roll Tribute to Peter Frampton", Ilon Art Gallery, New York, NY 2024, "10 My 10th Anniversary Group Show", Ilon Art Gallery, New York, NY 2021, "BeYOUtiful NY", Ilon Art Gallery, New York, NY Public Art / Murals / Commissions c.2012, "Newkirk Plaza Mosaic", Newkirk Plaza Passageway, Brooklyn, NY c.2011–2012, "27 Birds Mosaic", PS 217, Brooklyn, NY c.2010–2013, "Community Murals and Mosaics", Ditmas Park / Flatbush neighborhood sites (including Solo Bar exterior, church gardens, and roll-down gates), Brooklyn, NY Education Degree in Industrial Design, Universidad Rafael Landívar, Guatemala Grants / Support Brooklyn Arts Council and community-based public art support Selected Press & Profiles "Juan Carlos Pinto: Mosaic Muralist Extraordinaire!", Brooklyn ARTery "Juan Carlos Pinto: A Reactionary Artist With a Unique Vision", Eyes on Flatbush Coverage of Newkirk Plaza Mosaic, BKLYNER
Photo by Jamie Lubetkin
