Carlos Arriaga (Madrid in 1958), became widely known for his innovative technique of painting with oil directly over his own photographs. This hybrid method allows him to merge the precision of the photographic medium with the expressive power of painting, creating works that oscillate between reality and interpretation, between documentation and imagination. An artistic journey that mirrors the complex world we inhabit and the profound changes it demands from us.
Milan, Italy.
He’s a painter and photographer known for his unique style that blends figurative photography with abstract elements, often incorporating oil paint and pencil on black and white photographs.
A visual artist
Arriaga is a Spanish visual artist whose work moves between photography and painting, blending both disciplines into a distinctive, contemporary language. technique involves using photography as a base, applying layers of paint and glazes to create depth and visual interest. ² ³ Over the past decades, he has developed a recognizable style that explores the emotional and symbolic layers of urban landscapes and the relationship between humanity and its environment. This dual approach gives his work a unique texture and depth. The photograph acts as a structural foundation, while the oil painting adds movement, atmosphere, and emotional resonance. The result is a layered visual experience that captures both the visible world and its hidden psychological dimensions.
Arriaga’s artworks have been exhibited in galleries, art fairs and private collections across Europe and beyond. His artwork has been exhibited in galleries like Flecha, Galería de Arte Contemporáneo, and he’s participated in events like Art Madrid’25. His presence on international online platforms has also significantly expanded his audience, making his work accessible to collectors and institutions worldwide. Today, Carlos Arriaga continues to push the boundaries between photography and painting, traditional craftsmanship and digital experimentation.
La Gran Ría. His trajectory reflects a consistent search for truth, beauty, and transformation.
A recurring theme in Arriaga’s work
A recurring theme in Arriaga’s work the city—its architecture, its rhythms, its silences. He approaches the urban space not merely as a physical setting but as a metaphor for human identity, memory, and vulnerability. His cityscapes become inner landscapes, reflecting states of mind and collective concerns. Parallel to his exploration of cities, Arriaga’s work has increasingly engaged with nature, especially the fragility of the atmosphere. This interest marks a shift toward an environmental narrative rooted in the urgency of our times. His artworks invite viewers to reflect on the delicate balance between human progress and ecological responsibility. In recent years, Arriaga has embarked on a new photographic line called “Trans Photography”, a body of work that pushes his visual language into more experimental territory.
These images play with opacity, translucence, and abstraction, offering dramatic skies and atmospheric tensions that suggest both beauty and impending transformation. The “Trans” series explores the changing conditions of the environment through bold colors, unusual lighting, and an almost metaphysical sense of space. By stripping away literal reference points, Arriaga focuses on the emotional and symbolic forces that shape our perception of the natural world. These new photographs mark a natural evolution of his previous work: while his painted photographs integrate reality and personal intervention, the “Trans” series operates through pure photographic experimentation, opening a fresh dialogue between light, color, and meaning.
Burning Empire Hot Blue Chinatown. His artwork explores the relationship between nature and urban landscapes, highlighting the impact of human activity on the environment.
This series of digital work emphasizes on the fragile relationship between humanity and nature
“Through powerful and highly contrasted images, I seek to capture a world in transformation, a world where the atmosphere itself seems disturbed, altered, and transmuted. The skies I portray, often darkened or almost unreal, are not simply aesthetic choices; they are metaphors for the state of our environment and the consequences of human intervention. The blackened or disrupted skies in my photographs aim to provoke a sense of unease. They are not the skies we are used to seeing, but rather visions of an atmosphere that has been transformed, even damaged, by our actions. They remind us that climate change and environmental degradation are not abstract concepts, but urgent realities that affect us all” (Arriaga).
Technically, it is an innovative photographic style in which the world is transformed, almost turned upside down. Lights become shadows, shadows become lights, colors shift to their complements, and magic emerges. It is a photograph with the positive inverted to become a negative, reminiscent of traditional silver-halide film negatives, but greatly enhanced with digital painting. These cityscape views are the magical result of extensive research and both intellectual and hands-on work with the computer. The urban landscape remains recognizable, yet it is completely transformed through light and color. This is a unique technique in the world, one that Carlos knows how to master brilliantly.
Cola di Riebnzo nel Foro romano
Time has passed, and humanity has vanished, leaving behind only traces of its disorder.
Nature has returned, covering the city with silence and green.What was once a symbol of movement and progress has now been reclaimed by roots and branches, a reminder that balance was never a choice but a necessity. Nature rises quietly yet persistently, reclaiming the spaces that humanity has occupied and transformed. Each work reflects this silent act of resistance, where beauty and warning coexist within the same image.
“The cityscapes I create speak of imbalance and transformation, capturing a delicate dialogue between the natural and the constructed world. They invite the viewer to reflect on how far we have distanced ourselves from nature and how urgently we must restore that connection. Through the stillness of the scenes and the subtle play between light and shadow, I seek to evoke both awe and concern, reminding us that the future of our world is no longer certain but still holds the possibility of renewal if we choose to listen to what nature is trying to tell us” (Arriaga).
Hot blue China Town. Arriaga’s work has increasingly engaged with nature, especially the fragility of the atmosphere. This interest marks a shift toward an environmental narrative rooted in the urgency of our times.
Oil and pencil on black and white photo grisaille on canvas
“My work combines the strengths of both painting and photography in a unique and innovative way. Each piece begins with a black-and-white photographic grisaille printed on canvas, which I then paint over by hand using oil and pencil in color. This method ensures that every artwork is entirely one of a kind, reinterpreted from scratch and over the printed base, adding new atmosphere, colors, and interpretation to the original image“.
“At the same time, the photographic base provides great flexibility. Since I work with my own photographs of architectural views and urban landscapes, I can digitally modify the same scene, adjusting elements such as composition, green areas or animals and relocating, always improving, some buildings. After that I will print a new black-and-white version to use as the foundation for a completely different painting. But I want to insist that it will be the same London view the collector is interested in“.
Digital painting on Transmuted Photography
A novel photograph where the world is upside down. Lights turn into shadows, shadows into lights, colors transform into their complements, and magic emerges. It’s a photograph with the positive inverted to become a negative, reminiscent of the old halide silver film negatives.
These cityscapes are a magical outcome of extensive research and both intellectual and hands-on computer work. They present recognizable urban landscapes entirely transformed through light and color. It’s a technique unique in the world, one that Carlos adeptly harnesses.
Info: www.carlosarriaga.com
Foto by Carlos Arriaga
