About

It all started with a fare hike. In 2002, when the MTA first announced a planned subway fare increase from $1.50 to $2.00, Juan Carlos (aka “Carlos”) Pinto, a Brooklyn based, Guatemalan-born artist, created a collage from cut up MetroCards featuring a portrait of John Lennon to express the sticker shock faced by many working class locals. For more than two decades since then, Carlos has been using recycled MTA MetroCards to depict a variety of subjects ranging from portraits to animals and landscapes. He seeks to create art that merges personal, social, and environmental themes and inspires people to be more actively engaged in their communities. 

In addition to being recognized for his MetroCard creations, Carlos is also a founding member of the Brooklyn Recycle Project, which brings together community members to create public mosaics from repurposed ceramic and glass, including the Newkirk Plaza tunnel mural and a piece for the Audubon Mural Project. His work has been featured in a wide range of videos and documentaries online and in traditional media (see here, here, and here).  

Carlos is represented by various New York City based fine art galleries and curators including: Van Der Plas Gallery (@vanderplasnyc), The Bishop Gallery (@thebishopgallery), and Loni Efron (@ilonartgallery).