Carlos Barrios Salvadoran Australian, b. 1966
“I would stare into them [artefacts] and found myself transported to other dimensions, times and spaces. Everything was talking to me especially clouds and shadows, they seemed to describe a space between reality and fantasy, filled with adventures.” - Carlos Barrios
"Since I was a child I have had a deep interest in objects, symbols and other visual forms. I am fascinated by how energy and belief can transform something simple, almost banal, into a powerful source of communication. How this happens sometimes escapes my understanding.
As a maker of pictures and objects, I observe how long periods of concentration on a piece can bring about a magical, almost mystical state of being. I find myself in this space quite frequently through my practice, a process, a creative state, allowing something to manifest, take a physical form. My practice includes painting, drawing, ceramics and sculpture." - Carlos Barrios
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Blue octopus and friends, 2021Carlos BarriosMixed media on linen102 x 102 cm$ 7,000.00View more details
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Chooks, kelpie, and people, 2024Carlos BarriosOxide-glazed ceramic vase56 x 34 x 34 cm$ 1,850.00View more details
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Pet snake and family, 2020Carlos BarriosGlazed ceramic platter46 x 46 x 4.5 cm$ 1,100.00View more details
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Red and blue for you, 2026Carlos BarriosMixed media on linen102 x 200 cm$ 14,500.00View more details
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Amor (Love), 2026Carlos BarriosCopper oxide glazed ceramic vase60 x 24 cm$ 1,800.00 SoldView more details
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Cats and companions, 2020Carlos BarriosGlazed ceramic platter38 x 38 x 4.5 cm$ 1,000.00 SoldView more details
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Nesting birds, 2022Carlos BarriosGlazed ceramic platter52 x 52 x 7 cm$ 1,200.00 SoldView more details
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“The civil war began when I was ten and lasted over ten years. In this war time madness and normality coexisted. Many nights the electricity was cut and in the candle lit spaces of the house I saw creatures moving and watching us, so I would paint and draw them. As I worked, I would watch my hand moving, creating the figures and creatures, I was the onlooker, the witness to this seemingly automatic unfolding of pictures, visual descriptions.” - Carlos Barrios
Carlos Barrios was born in San Salvador, El Salvador,Central America and now lives and works in the Currumbin Valley in Queensland. Ancient sites and pyramids have influenced his work. He began painting figures and creatures from his imagination at the age of six. However, when he was ten, civil war broke out and Barrios found himself illustrating the horrific scenes of war.
The focus of his artworks is to paint the good he believes is in everyone. This is the reason many of his paintings are filled with figures, “I must paint people”, Barrios explains. Barrios has been a finalist in several art prizes including the Blake Prize, Sulman Prize, NSW Plein Air Art Prize and the Fisher Ghost Art Prize.
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Sagrada Familia
Carlos Barrios 24 Jun - 18 Jul 2026'This body of work is about the acts of love and devotion that link people together. Whether through blood, association, common goals or cohabitation, these ties that bind remind us...Read more -
Summer Salon | Little Treasures
3 Dec 2025 - 31 Jan 2026This summer, the gallery presents Summer Salon | Little Treasures, an exhibition that turns its attention to the quiet strength of small-scale artworks. These pieces show how limited dimensions can...Read more -
Doorways
Group Show 15 Jan - 2 Feb 2025Read more -
THE CHARIOT: A JOURNEY
Carlos Barrios 21 Aug - 8 Sep 2024Most of us have been touched in certain moments of our lives By a creature of the animal kind, furry, scaly or feathered From the air or water, from the...Read more -
Selected Works on Paper
Carlos Barrios 2 - 26 Mar 2022Carlos Barrios was born in San Salvador, El Salvador,Central America and now lives and works in the Currumbin Valley in Queensland. Ancient sites and pyramids have influenced his work. “I...Read more -
Love, Hope & Devotion
Carlos Barrios 23 Nov - 19 Dec 2021Carlos takes off humanities’ clothes and people look normal, honest of intent and decent .. dignity prevails and resides in his world. He looks under the surface and freely paints...Read more
