Artist Biography
Applying over 40 years of graphic design experience (i.e. brand identities, corporate communication literature and packaging) to this art-making phase of his career, Carlos Sosa, the designer/artist, introduces his contemporary interpretations of Latin American cultural imagery—including Mexican ceremonial traditions, pre-Colombian tribal petroglyphs (Taino de Puerto Rico), and ornamental pottery symbols. Inspired by the scarcity of more modern art options to proudly display Latino heritage, this work is designed to add a sense of modernism and pride to traditional themes.
This “Metro Vida” lifestyle is what Sosa’s art is all about. Wall sculptures and digital paintings with a Latin “flava,” cultural connections, and interesting stories produced with the quality and attention to detail from a seasoned professional. Much of the imagery used in this art form has traditionally existed in a folkloric, traditional expression. However, in this work, Sosa is trying to deliver a more contemporary, cultural approach suitable for a more sophisticated multi-cultural audience. The use of materials in this body of work is also unusual—i.e. the use of wood or acrylic to express an art form that traditionally is made from very lightweight paper (paper picado, for example).
Sosa brings together important aspects of his world to express his ideas about the complexity and uniqueness of the multicultural environments in which we live. The work celebrates this through hand-drawn and digital imagery, texture, color, pattern and layers. Much of the visual vocabulary applied to this work is also a direct result of Carlos’ interaction with urban art from his childhood in the Bronx and 1960s-70s television and comics. Art has always told stories to Sosa, and his goal is to pass those and new narratives to his children and his audiences.
His mission is to help the viewer reflect on and to celebrate the many layers of traditions, and the price that it sometimes costs families and cultures to maintain and communicate those traditions.
Los VejiGENTES III
The 65th
laBanderia
CaSEEta El Viejo SJ
Artists Statement
My work is an offering to Puerto Rico: a love letter, a question, a mirror. Treasures of the Island is not just about what we see when we look at Puerto Rico, but how we feel when we remember it—the laughter in the plazas, the prayers whispered to the sea, the colors that refuse to fade even in exile. My art seeks to hold these memories up to the light, to ask: what are the treasures we carry when the island itself feels both near and far?
The vejigante mask I’ve created — one blazing in the colors of our flag— speaks to the truth of who we are: many faces, one soul. In them lives the fusion of our African, Taíno, and European ancestry, still dancing, still defiant. My homage to the 65th Infantry Regiment—the Borinqueneers—honors the courage of men like my father and grandfather, who fought beneath another flag yet carried Puerto Rico in their hearts. Their service is both wound and pride, memory and legacy.
In laBandería, I reimagine a simple photograph of laundry on the line, draped with three Puerto Rican flags. It becomes a metaphor for survival and dignity—for the daily act of washing, hanging, and reclaiming our colors.
I am a NuyoRican from the South Bronx—shaped by city streets, yet forever rooted in the rhythms of the island. Currently a HoosieRican artist, it is an honor to return these visions home—to stand alongside other Puerto Rican artists from Indiana and beyond. Together, we are part of a larger story: one that sings of heritage, survival, and the unbreakable bond between the island and its people. These are my treasures—born of memory, pride, and love for Puerto Rico, which lives within me always.
Carlos' Social Links