Carlos Mare aka Mare139, born in 1965, is one of the pioneers of New York subway writing. With his signature lettering style, he began creating metal sculptures in 1985 – a way of extending graffiti writing beyond the two-dimensional wall to contemplate graffiti from different perspectives. This innovative approach still characterizes Mare’s work as a visual artist today. Mare139 became known as a sculptor with the metal sculpture K, the beginning of a series of large-format sculptures that retained the shapes of graffiti lettering but were folded into space. In the following years, he has increasingly drawn inspiration from Constructivism, Cubism, and Futurism.

Mare’s Center of Momentum Frame (2011) is inspired by his early graffiti sculptures from the 1980s. Dynamic arrows emerge from the surface and intertwine with one another. The work also pays homage to the corner reliefs of Russian avant-garde artist Vladimir Tatlin, and to the high-relief works of the recently deceased New York sculptor Frank Stella.

On loan courtesy of the Gewobag collection.