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Art Brokerage is proud to present a wondeful selection of original paintings and pastels by Carlos Almaraz. B. 1941-1989 - Both of Los Angeles artist Carlos Almaraz' parents were born in Mexico – his mother in Mexico City, his father in Aguascalientes. His father came to the United States as a child and lived in Chicago during the Depression, returning periodically to Mexico, where he met his wife and where Carlos was born. The Almaraz family moved to Chicago when Almaraz was a year old; they settled there for seven years. His father worked in the steel mills while Almaraz attended public schools, learning English in an environment of multiracial and multicultural tensions. He was aware from an early age, he says, of a sense of “bifurcation†in his surroundings. When Carlos Almaraz was eight, his family moved to California, settling for a short time in Chatsworth, then a rural Mexican-American railroad village near Los Angeles. After six months in Chatsworth, the family moved to West Los Angeles. From there they moved to the grittier East Los Angeles barrio, a Mexican-American city within a city. Almaraz lived there from the third or fourth grade through his graduation from Garfield High School. Almaraz was saved as he says, from total disaffection by his high school friendship with Danny Guerrero, who was involved in theater, and by life-drawing classes with David Ramirez at Garfield High. An excellent student, he graduated in 1959. Carlos Almaraz spent the summer after graduation at Loyola University and subsequently attended California State College at Los Angeles for two-and-a-half years. Although the college offered no painting or drawing instruction to speak of, he did meet Frank Romero there – “a much superior draftsman to me†– and, with his encouragement, applied to Otis Art Institute, to which he received a scholarship and where he studied intermittently. In 1962 the artist felt a strong need to go to New York, which he saw as the center of the contemporary art world. Almaraz stayed for six months before returning to study at U.C.L.A. for a year. Then he went back to New York to stay, during 1965-71. In 1971 Almaraz left New York, exhausted by physical and emotional crisis and diseased by alcohol. He returned to Los Angeles, where he was hospitalized with severe pancreatitis, he was on the brink of death and was given last rites. After forty-two days in a coma and experiencing extended hallucinations, an out of body episode, accompanied by a “a sense of complete depletion and collapse, Carlos Almaraz wrote in his journal: I realized I needed to start over again, but had no idea how I was going to do that.†Almaraz' solution was to immerse himself in the Chicano movement through various sources, including the Los Angeles cooperative gallery; Mechicano; Luis Valdez's Teatro Campesino; and the United Farm Workers movement led by Cesar Chavez. For several years Almaraz lived in Frank Romero's house. He returned to the Otis Art Institute to complete his M.F.A. (1974), and he became involved in the Los Angeles mural movement. Between 1973 and 1978, an active mural-painting scene centered in the East Los Angeles Mexican-American community attracted virtually every talented Chicano artist. Almaraz met the artists Gilbert Lujan and Beto de la Rocha, which, with the addition of Frank Romero, resulted in the first major exhibition of “Los Four,†during 1974 at the University of California, Irvine, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and several other institutions. In 1975, the artist visited China, with which he was fascinated; and in 1977, he went to Cuba, which, compared to what he had sensed in China,†was disillusioning. Like other artists who had participated in the Chicano movement, Almaraz gradually detached himself from it as the 1970s waned. In 1981 Carlos Almaraz married the artist and painter Elsa Flores, whom he had met while doing cultural work in the community and after seven years of friendship they began dating when she was working in the studio above his in downtown Los Angeles. Their daughter, Maya, was born in 1983. The couple began to visit Hawaii regularly and bought property on the island of Kauai, which they visited each year for several months. In 1989, Carlos embarked on the most prolific time of his career, not only through his use of paint and pastels, but also through the creation of limited editions in both serigraphy and etching. Almaraz had been diagnosed with the AIDS virus in 1987 and was only too aware that he was in a race with time. In December of 1989, Carlos Almaraz died, leaving an unforgettable legacy to his craft and the world. His remains were buried in a small ocean side cemetery on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Carlos's work is greatly admired by everyone at the Art Brokerage. We take special pride in offering his beautiful paintings. |
Carlos Almaraz - Original Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings, & Works on Paper |
Originals Slideshow | |
New Listing Drawing Must Sell! |
Carlos Almaraz
"Blue Chair" Drawing Ink Drawing 1981 | |
New Listing Original Painting |
Carlos Almaraz
"Bunny Boy" Original Painting Oil on Canvas 1984 | Hand Signed | | Edition # | | Provenance & Extra Info | This painting had been in the private collection of the artist hanging in his home for many years until the time of his death. A few years prior to his passing Almaraz gifted it to his daughter and has remained in her Trust since his death. Bunny Boy was one of Almaraz' personal icon used throughout his career which was representative of fertility, magic, humor, cunning, quickness and mental acuity. Upon wedding his wife in the early 80's Bunny Boy affectionately became one of his pet names between the couple. This painting is beautifully articulated and heavily textured with oil paint and has never been offered on the market before now. It is truly an special piece and one close to the artists heart and imbued by his creative and playful spirit. | Retail Price | | Asking Price: $43,800 Make Offer Purchase / Request More Information | |
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New Listing Original Painting Must Sell! |
Carlos Almaraz
"City on Fire" Original Painting Oil on Canvas 1988 | |
New Listing Original Painting Fabulous Wall Sized Painting |
Carlos Almaraz
"Clock Struck Three" Original Painting oil on canvas 1989 | |
New Listing Original Painting Very Special Painting |
Carlos Almaraz
"Deer Dancer" Original Painting Oil on Canvas 1989 | |
New Listing Original Painting |
Carlos Almaraz
"Echo Park (Los Angeles)" Original Painting Acrylic on Canvas 1980 | |
New Listing Original Painting |
Carlos Almaraz
"Flying Tea Cups" Original Painting Pastel on Paper 1984 | |
Reduced Watercolor |
Carlos Almaraz
"Garden of Eden" Watercolor Watercolor and Ink on Paper 1984 | |
New Listing Original Painting |
Carlos Almaraz
"Jungle Scene" Original Painting Pastel on Paper 1984 | |
New Listing Original Painting |
Carlos Almaraz
"Kalihiwai River" Original Painting Pastel on Paper 1984 | |
Reduced Original Painting |
Carlos Almaraz
"Magicians Table" Original Painting Oil on Canvas 1974 | |
New Listing Original Painting |
Carlos Almaraz
"Queen of the May" Original Painting Monotype on Archival Rag Paper 1989 | |
New Listing Original Painting |
Carlos Almaraz
"Sisters (Pastel)" Original Painting Pastel on Paper 1988 | |
New Listing Original Painting Unique California Painting |
Carlos Almaraz
"Trash Burning on Venice Beach" Original Painting Acrylic on Canvas 1980 | |
New Listing Drawing |
Carlos Almaraz
"Tropical Dreamer" Drawing Pastel on Paper 1988 | Hand Signed | | Edition # | | Provenance & Extra Info | This pastel was created and hung in the artists Hawaiian home. It was featured in L.A. Style Magazine in 1988 and the pastel was part of the artists private collection. The figure on the lower right hand side is the artist himself. | Retail Price | | Asking Price: $25,000 Make Offer Purchase / Request More Information | |
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New Listing Original Painting Must Sell! |
Carlos Almaraz
"Untitled Beach Pastel" Original Painting Pastel on Paper 1984 | |
New Listing Original Painting |
Carlos Almaraz
"Untitled Original" Original Painting Mixed Media on Canvas 1970 | |
New Listing Original Painting |
Carlos Almaraz
"Wainiha Bridge (Hawaii)" Original Painting Oil on Canvas 1984 | |
New Listing Original Painting |
Carlos Almaraz
"Waterfall" Original Painting Oil on Canvas 1986 | |
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Carlos Almaraz - Limited Edition Signed and Numbered Prints |
Prints Slideshow | |
New Listing Must Sell! |
Carlos Almaraz
"Car Crash West Coast" Limited Edition Print Serigraph 1991 | |
New Listing |
Carlos Almaraz
"City Bridge" Limited Edition Print Intaglio 1989 | |
New Listing Must Sell! |
Carlos Almaraz
"Clock Struck Three" Limited Edition Print Serigraph 1989 | |
New Listing |
Carlos Almaraz
"Clock Struck Three" Limited Edition Print Serigraph 1989 | |
New Listing |
Carlos Almaraz
"Deep Purple Crash" Limited Edition Print Intaglio 1999 | |
New Listing |
Carlos Almaraz
"Echo Park 3" Limited Edition Print Serigraph 1990 | |
New Listing Must Sell! |
Carlos Almaraz
"Fools Paradise" Limited Edition Print Silkscreen 1986 | |
Reduced |
Carlos Almaraz
"Growing City" Limited Edition Print Serigraph 1988 | |
Reduced |
Carlos Almaraz
"Growing City" Limited Edition Print Serigraph 1988 | |
New Listing |
Carlos Almaraz
"Laughing and Crying" Limited Edition Print Serigraph 1987 | |
New Listing |
Carlos Almaraz
"MacArthur Park" Limited Edition Print Serigraph on Paper
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New Listing |
Carlos Almaraz
"Moonlight Theater" Limited Edition Print Intaglio 1989 | |
New Listing |
Carlos Almaraz
"Mystery In The Park" Limited Edition Print Serigraph 1989 | |
New Listing |
Carlos Almaraz
"Mystery in the Park Diptych" Limited Edition Print Serigraph Diptych 1989 | |
New Listing Must Sell! |
Carlos Almaraz
"Pleasure Is Mine" Limited Edition Print Serigraph 1990 | |
New Listing Must Sell! |
Carlos Almaraz
"Pleasure is Mine (Tea cups)" Limited Edition Print Silkscreen 1990 | |
New Listing Must Sell! |
Carlos Almaraz
"Southwest Song" Limited Edition Print Silkscreen 1988 | |
New Listing |
Carlos Almaraz
"Southwest Song" Limited Edition Print Serigraph 1988 | |
New Listing Must Sell! |
Carlos Almaraz
"Struggle of Mankind" Limited Edition Print Serigraph 1989 | |
Reduced |
Carlos Almaraz
"Suave Como La Noche" Limited Edition Print Serigraph 1985 | |
New Listing Must Sell! |
Carlos Almaraz
"Tree of Life" Limited Edition Print Silkscreen 1989 | |
New Listing |
Carlos Almaraz
"Tree of Life" Limited Edition Print Serigraph 1989 | |
New Listing Must Sell! |
Carlos Almaraz
"Tree of Life" Limited Edition Print Serigraph 1989 | |
New Listing |
Carlos Almaraz
"West Coast Crash" Limited Edition Print Serigraph 1990 | |
Available Must Sell! |
Carlos Almaraz
"Whatever Happened To the Incas?" Limited Edition Print Serigraph 1985 | |
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Art Wanted - Art Brokerage clients are currently looking for the following works of art |
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