Carlos  Sandoval

About  The  Artist

Born: Education: Professional Memberships:

1954 San Luis, Colorado Art Institute of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania   1973-1974 University of Colorado Boulder  1976-1978 University of Seville Spain  1978 1975 Founding Member of “CHAC” Chicano Humanities Arts Council

Publications: Awards

New York Times Denver Post/Rocky Mountain News Seminario La Voz Harry Smith CBS Interview Commissioned by the Government of Mexico for Ethnographic Mural Project in Ixtapa, Mexico 1980 Downtown Denver, Colorado Mural Projects 1979 San Luis, Colorado Mural Project 1988 Restoration of Carousel Horses at Elitch’s Gardens Denver, CO

Exhibitions: Museums: Corporate Collections: Galleries:

Columbia, Yale, New Mexico Universities   1985 “CHAC” Chicano Humanities Arts Council   1975-2008 Sangre de Christo Art Museum, Pueblo, Colorado   2007 San Luis Cultural Museum, Colorado Ready Foods, Denver, Colorado Spirit Runner Gallery Taos, New Mexico East West Lounge Gallery Los Angeles, California

THE SANDOVAL HISTORY

Once a Sangre de Christo Mexican Land Grant territory and included for a period of time a part of Taos County, New Mexico, San Luis is now considered the oldest town in the state of Colorado, established 1851 and home to the Sandoval family. Nestled at the foot of Culebra Peak, it was founded in those early days by European settlers of Spanish descent who were migrating northward from New Mexico into the ancestral lands of the Native American Indian, the Ute, the Comanche, the Apache, et al.

On his mother’s side of the family, they traveled from the ancient village setting of Abiquiu, New Mexico. It was there where Georgia O’Keefe found a secluded refuge and restored a Spartan old adobe which would become her home, and later a part of her museum. Carlos can remember his great aunts driving Miss O’Keefe around for errands and trips to the countryside. His father’s side of the family came from Chimayo, New Mexico which houses the site of El Santuario de Chimayo, The Lourdes of America. His father was superintendent of The Forbes Trinchera Ranch, the Sheriff of San Luis, Colorado for 16 years, and Hermano Mayor of the Penetentes at the morada in San Pablo, Colorado.

Carlos Sandoval

A Sandoval family historical account is worth mention to help understand the cultural depth of his art. During the tumultuous colonization of the San Luis Valley, it became necessary in 1858 for the U.S. Government to build an adobe fort just north of San Luis, Colorado. The fort was named Fort Garland after Brigadier General Garland and was established primarily to protect settlers from Indian resistance. Heading soldiers of mostly Hispano New Mexican Volunteers was the famous scout Christopher “Kit” Carson, who took command of Fort Garland in 1866. The famed “Buffalo Soldiers” from the Ninth Calvary also served at Fort Garland from 1876-1879. It was during this time that Indian tribes and roaming warriors treaded their traditional routes as their natural way of living. It was not uncommon for a raiding party to befall courageous settlers in remote places, and San Luis, Colorado was no exception. It was in the latter half of the 19th century when the town of San Luis, and the Sandoval family, found itself and themselves under attack from a band of agitated Apaches. The raid came in the form of expert equestrian Indian riders swooping down upon the villages causing commotion and a great deal of uproar. With such consternation about, the villagers would have tried to barricade themselves within the fort like walls of the plaza and fend off the marauders as best they could. The Indians would be looking to plunder additional horses for their herd along with livestock, women and children. The family tells of their great, great grandfather, Encarnacion Lobato, “Little Wolf”, Miquelita’s future husband, hiding as a little boy crouched in a rabbit burrow in a wheat field to avoid capture by Indians. After the melee was over and consensus taken, it was soon discovered that Carlos’ great, great grandmother, Maria Felipa Sisneros was captured and taken hostage by the Apaches. She was born in 1860 in San Luis of Spanish, Apache and Navajo descent with relatives living at Santa Clara pueblo. She would not have been unfamiliar with the custom of stealing since it was a common practice in those days by the Indian and Spanish alike. Maria would be missing for two years until an Apache befriended some members of the community and informed them of her location elsewhere in the San Luis Valley. It was decided by the family to present a bounty in the form of ransom for her return. They steadfastly organized two wagons full of provisions including meats, potatoes, Rio Grande blankets, gunpowder, implements, and spirits, with sacks of chicos, flour and corn meal from the town mill. The wagons were loaded with the help of neighbors and pulled by mule trains to be driven off in exchange for the Indians’ captive. A parley ensued with a proper trade being made and Carlos’ great, great grandmother, Maria was returned safe and sound to the Sandoval family. As could be imagined, she came back impregnated with Carlos ‘great grandmother, Miquelita Cordova who was born that year and later to marry Encarnacion. These were their times in the vast expanses of the American West when the bloodlines of so many different races were blended together to create a brand new family. This historical event is commemorated by Carlos Sandoval in an outdoor sculpture of a mule train and wagon and mural in the middle of his hometown of San Luis, Colorado. In art, as in most things, it is through the appreciation of the past that one can consider the importance of the future. To this day, members of the family participate in the traditions and ceremonies like Sun Dance, the drumming and singing of native songs, and the purification rites of native people. Herein lays the inherent beauty of a Sandoval painting. He can see through the eyes of the Native American dancing the Sun Dance on the open plain while simultaneously becoming the Spaniard gazing out of a mule train wagon venturing onto a new continent courting adventure; being true to both, having the blood of both. Sandoval’s work moves freely between two distinctly unique cultures, yet joins us together in the human events of time and race.

WORKS

Sandoval can see through the eyes of the Native American dancing on the open plains, and the Spanish settler venturing onto a new continent, both being true to their land and customs. Having traveled extensively throughout America, Mexico, and Europe, Sandoval has honed his highly stylized painting technique and his skills have emerged. An observer can notice the colorful movement on the canvas dancing with the intricate movements of his mind. His work moves freely between two distinctly different cultures and can be seen in a style unmistakably his own… authentic, spiritual, and American. He attended Art Institute of Pittsburg, University of Colorado, and University of Seville, Spain. The Government of Mexico commissioned him to paint large ethnographic murals. He has exhibited at Columbia and Yale Universities, and is currently exhibiting in Taos and Los Angeles. His work resides in the permanent collection of The San Luis Cultural Museum and in private collections.

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