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Carolina Caples

about

Carolina Caples at Chateau Studio

bio

Carolina Caples was born in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1971. She received her BFA in Fine Art & Painting from the University of Arizona in 1993. She is the recipient of several grants including The Arizona Commission on the Arts Artist Opportunity Grants (FY 2022, 2023, and 2024) as well as the Project Creosote START award from the Arts Foundation for Tucson in Southern Arizona (2022). Her work has been featured in the March 2023, second issue of Suboart International Magazine. She has exhibited in galleries and public spaces including Untitled Gallery in Tucson, Arizona and Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek, California. Her work is included in private collections across the United States and Europe and in the corporate collection of United Airlines. Carolina currently lives and works in Tucson, Arizona.

statement

To be seen and deeply understood by another is a basic human desire reflected in my paintings, both portraits and abstracts. Using bold and vibrant colors, often layering shapes and exploring depths, the physical act of pushing paint around takes me on an unplanned, spontaneous journey to create and re-contextualize the vulnerability of our human experience.

 

While often starting with simple elements, my abstract paintings emanate from a primal place, in turn, creating visual chaos reflective of the tension and turmoil within — a tension awaiting clarity through both psychological and technical artistic problem solving. The tension holds in it a desire for clarity, a relief from the chaos that only arrives when balance has been restored and a new awareness is yielded in my subconscious and conscious processing.

 

The themes that permeate my abstract work are varied, yet rooted in stories of personal growth that demonstrate how pain is a beautiful and necessary part of living life with courage. I explore the complexities of human relationships, the lure of safety and the omniscience and freedom that arises when we listen to our higher knowing. Meditation is a critical part of my process, bringing clarity to the canvas as I allow the shapes and bold, rhythmic colors to guide me with fluid, balanced, rounded lines and psychedelic qualities.

 

Beginning with either a self-selected or client-select photograph, my portraits show the power and vulnerability of the human soul by reflecting one’s truest, most authentic essence. After projecting or transferring a photograph reference onto the substrate, I add layers of shapes and values before refinement, often integrating conceptual an literal elements from nature and desert cactus to articulate the energy and vibration surrounding the individual in the moment. Most often, my portraits tell the story of a human soul engaged in conscious or subconscious transformation, yearning to shed low vibrational feelings about self-worth, security, and self-love.

 

While my work encompasses the specificity of portraiture and the freedom of abstract concepts, it is distinct and recognizable. My intention is to attract those who find resonance with pain, transformation, and hope contained in each painting — those who are willing to lose themselves, if only momentarily, in order to be found in the vulnerability of seeing their true self through the journey of another.

exhibitions

solo exhibitions

2026 JOEL D VALDEZ MAIN LIBRARY, TUCSON, ARIZONA
2025 QUINCIE DOUGLAS LIBRARY, TUCSON, ARIZONA
2024 ECKSTROM-COLUMBUS LIBRARY, TUCSON, ARIZONA
2003 VAUDEVILLE PANEL GALLERY, TUCSON, ARIZONA
2000 HOTEL CONGRESS GALLERY, TUCSON, ARIZONA

group exhibitions

2026 TINY, FOUND:RE HOTEL, PHOENIX, AZ 
2026 THE OTHER SIDE OF ORDINARY, THE STEINFELD GALLERY, TUCSON, AZ 2026 SMALL WORKS UNTITLED GALLERY, TUCSON, AZ 
2026 TUCSON ANNUAL ART SHOW, RBC WEALTH MANAGEMENT   
2025 ALL EYES ON YOU EYE LOUNGE GALLERY, PHOENIX, AZ
2025 SPRING SHOW TUCSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, TUCSON, AZ 2025 SMALL WORKS UNTITLED GALLERY, TUCSON, AZ
2024 8TH ANNUAL ANCESTRAL GATHERING, THE SAGRADO, PHOENIX, AZ
2024 INSPIRED BY HER, LA LINEA GALLERY, NOGALES, AZ
2024 ABSTRACTS WITH RED, CAMELBACK VIRTUAL GALLERY
2024 FACE TO FACE, MARIANA DE LA VEGA GALLERY, TUCSON, AZ
2023 NEW BEGENDINGS SUBSPACE GALLERY, TUCSON, AZ 2023 ABOUT FACE JURIED SHOW, BEDFORD GALLERY, WALNUT CREEK, CA
2022 STILL UNTITLED GALLERY, TUCSON, AZ
2022 STAFF SHOW PIMA COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, TUCSON, AZ

2021-22 MINIMAL VS MAXIMAL, FOUND:RE HOTEL PHOENIX, AZ 
2017 FEAST RESTAURANT, TUCSON, AZ

awards & grants

2025 Peoples Choice Award in Small Works Show at Untitled Gallery, Tucson, Az

2024 Bronze Award Camelback Gallery juried show

FY 2024, Recipient of Arizona Commission on the Arts Artist Opportunity Grant 

FY 2023, Recipient of Arizona Commission on the Arts Artist Opportunity Grant

FY 2022, Recipient of Project Creosote START Award Arts Foundation for Tucson & Southern Arizona

FY 2022, Recipient of Arizona Commission on the Arts Artist Opportunity Grant

residency

CHÂTEAU D'ORQUEVAUX Champagne-Ardenne, France – two week residence May-June 2025

corporate collections

UNITED AIRLINES, United Club, Sky Harbor Airport, Phoenix, AZ

publications

March 2023, Suboart International Magazine, #2; Seidel, Nina
December 2022, suboartmagazine.com, All Eyes On: Carolina Caples; Seidel, Nina

solo exhibitions

2026 JOEL D VALDEZ MAIN LIBRARY, TUCSON, ARIZONA
2025 QUINCIE DOUGLAS LIBRARY, TUCSON, ARIZONA
2024 ECKSTROM-COLUMBUS LIBRARY, TUCSON, ARIZONA
2003 VAUDEVILLE PANEL GALLERY, TUCSON, ARIZONA
2000 HOTEL CONGRESS GALLERY, TUCSON, ARIZONA

group exhibitions

2026 TINY, FOUND:RE HOTEL, PHOENIX, AZ 
2026 THE OTHER SIDE OF ORDINARY, THE STEINFELD GALLERY, TUCSON, AZ 2026 SMALL WORKS UNTITLED GALLERY, TUCSON, AZ 
2026 TUCSON ANNUAL ART SHOW, RBC WEALTH MANAGEMENT   
2025 ALL EYES ON YOU EYE LOUNGE GALLERY, PHOENIX, AZ
2025 SPRING SHOW TUCSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, TUCSON, AZ 2025 SMALL WORKS UNTITLED GALLERY, TUCSON, AZ
2024 8TH ANNUAL ANCESTRAL GATHERING, THE SAGRADO, PHOENIX, AZ
2024 INSPIRED BY HER, LA LINEA GALLERY, NOGALES, AZ
2024 ABSTRACTS WITH RED, CAMELBACK VIRTUAL GALLERY
2024 FACE TO FACE, MARIANA DE LA VEGA GALLERY, TUCSON, AZ
2023 NEW BEGENDINGS SUBSPACE GALLERY, TUCSON, AZ 2023 ABOUT FACE JURIED SHOW, BEDFORD GALLERY, WALNUT CREEK, CA
2022 STILL UNTITLED GALLERY, TUCSON, AZ
2022 STAFF SHOW PIMA COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, TUCSON, AZ

2021-22 MINIMAL VS MAXIMAL, FOUND:RE HOTEL PHOENIX, AZ 
2017 FEAST RESTAURANT, TUCSON, AZ

awards & grants

2025 Peoples Choice Award in Small Works Show at Untitled Gallery, Tucson, Az

2024 Bronze Award Camelback Gallery juried show

FY 2024, Recipient of Arizona Commission on the Arts Artist Opportunity Grant 

FY 2023, Recipient of Arizona Commission on the Arts Artist Opportunity Grant

FY 2022, Recipient of Project Creosote START Award Arts Foundation for Tucson & Southern Arizona

FY 2022, Recipient of Arizona Commission on the Arts Artist Opportunity Grant

residency

CHÂTEAU D'ORQUEVAUX Champagne-Ardenne, France – two week residence May-June 2025

corporate collections

UNITED AIRLINES, United Club, Sky Harbor Airport, Phoenix, AZ

publications

March 2023, Suboart International Magazine, #2; Seidel, Nina
December 2022, suboartmagazine.com, All Eyes On: Carolina Caples; Seidel, Nina

exhibitions

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