Aston Martin Residences Art Gallery Presents

The Aston Martin Residences Art Gallery welcomes abstract artist Louis Carreon as the latest featured talent for its Virtual Art Gallery exhibition series.

California native Louis Carreon is an acclaimed contemporary artist with a background in street art and a cult following after having spent nearly two years in prison and overcoming addiction. In the face of adversity, his creativity as an artist blossomed as he became internationally renowned for his religious symbolism resulting from subsequent world travels to the spiritual capitals across the globe. He frequently exhibits in galleries around the world, and one of his best-known commissions was a custom mural on a 12-seat private jet for Art Basel Miami, featuring his “International Symbols of Travel.”

Currently, he is based in Los Angeles and works from his Hollywood studio called the Drip Factory. Though his style is distinctive, he openly invites comparisons of his work to Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. In 2015 he dedicated his mural for Landmark Aviation to the Keith Haring Foundation and AIDS awareness.

Carreon is a lifelong surfer who was competing nationally by the time he was 16. He frequently travels around the world to different surfing destinations and credits the hobby as one of his greatest inspirations.

Carreon’s current success as a contemporary artist comes after spending two years in prison for drug-related charges. During this time, he found peace and solace in the process of creating art and even credits art as something that helps keep his addiction issues under control.

While incarcerated, he also learned a lot about his craft as an artist. “In prison, you don’t get to use paints, so there’s a lot of pen time. I was drawing in sketchbooks every day, learning different penmanship and fonts and reading about art. The whole time I was in prison, I was sketching but on a different scale. I was plotting my road map as I watched artists gain a little bit of gravity at that time.”

Carreon frequently exhibits at Hamilton-Selway Fine Art in West Hollywood. Their inventory includes his greatest influences, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. Carreon is one of the few living artists that the gallery represents.

His exhibitions with the gallery have included “No Unsolicited Submissions” and “Church + State,” which examines our near worship of Google as an authority above both government and faith.

“I’m a vandal at heart,” says Carreon, who started out as a tagger. “I’m a 40-year-old businessman—but as an artist, I’m still a kid.” Carreon is very much engaged in the question of his identity, his place in society and culture, and how to find peace in this world. If this looks like art that saved someone’s life, it’s because it did—his. Through two years in prison and ten years of sobriety, Carreon has realized a few things about awareness, motivation, and intimacy. For him, the true power of art doesn’t lie entirely in how good you are at any given moment; you can always get better. He often asks the question, who are you painting for? “At least one part of that answer better be for yourself, or you’re in trouble,” says Carreon. “I tell my fans on Instagram, the kids especially, ‘I paint for me. You should paint for yourself.’”

Carreon is also pleased to present “Paintitecture Fantasy,” an original interpretation for the Aston Martin Residences’ permanent collection, inspired by the residences’ sail-shaped architecture and tropical environment and portraying the 66-story tower standing tall under the blazing sun of South Florida.

Drawing from his colorful past and background in graffiti, rapping, skateboarding, and surfing, Louis Carreon is a visionary contemporary artist known for his enigmatic, abstract images inspired by religious iconography. Using art to reflect on the adversities of his past, his work fuses contemporary ideas with classic concepts, paying homage to art history. In addition to brand collaborations with UBS, Art Basel, Denison Yachts, the SoHo House, Viper Room, and the Stanley Cup, Carreon has exhibited his artworks internationally, including in Mexico City, Madrid, and New York City. Notably, Louis has been commissioned by Landmark Aviation to paint its narrative ISOT (International Symbols of Travel) onto a 12-seater private jet as well as by Dimension Superyachts to paint ISOT on a mega yacht for consecutive years during Art Basel. Currently, Louis is working on his Ryzantine narratives, updating spiritual and religious iconography for the modern world.

Credit: Louis Carreon/Aston Martin Residences