Mare139
Carlos Rodriguez (also known as "Mare 139") is a New York-based artist born in 1965 in Spanish Harlem, New York City. He was best known as the subway graffiti writer Mare 139, and has since adapted the graffiti lettering styles to metal sculpture in the fine art context, and is recognized as a media artist for his creation of graffiti-art-related websites.
As a member of the golden age of subway graffiti (1975–1985), he painted under the moniker "Mare" which was short for "Nightmare". He wrote alongside many of the style masters of his generation among them Kel First, Dondi White, Crash, Kase2, Noc167 and others. This tutelage along with his interest in modernizing the art form lead his interests to contemporary art as a vehicle to re-interpret the concepts and aesthetic of style writing.
As a sculptor, Carlos Mare139 Rodriguez's breakthrough was with the metal "K" sculpture in 1985. This led to a series of large-scale sculptures that were true to graffiti lettering format, but peeled and folded into space. By 1986, the sculptures departed from the common vernacular of writing to the more complex study Constructivist, Cubist and Futurist ideas, but yet retained its initial feel of graffiti-style writing.
His sculptures have been exhibited internationally.
Rodriguez also designed and created the award for the annual BET/Black Entertainment Awards show, which is given to entertainers, athletes and actors. Recipients include Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Beyoncé, Kobe Bryant, Usher, Serena Williams and many more.
Other award projects included the 2005 and 2007 Red Bull Beat Battle Award and more recently the SPY Award for the 30th Anniversary of the Rock Steady Crew as well as a G-Unit Award expressly for 50 Cent given to him by fashion designer Marc Ecko.
In 2008, he completed a residency project titled "FreeStyle Archityper" at Brighton University in England, where he created an indoor sculpture installation using a process devoid of models and drawings. The on-site exhibition included other works in both metal print and large-scale sculpture. The Freestyle Archityper installation was a breakthrough work in which his interest in re-skinning architecture continued to take form. In 2009, Rodriguez will re-skin his first building using his unique sculptural talents.
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