Wynwood Art District in Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Carlos “Mare” Rodriguez

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, January 24, 2026

1. Carlos “Mare” Rodriguez Marker

Inscription.

Carlos “Mare” Rodriguez. . , New York graffiti icon Carlos “Mare” Rodriguez, born in Manhattan and raised in the South Bronx, began his artistic career in 1976, painting on trains under the name “Mare139”. As a member of the golden age of subway graffiti (1976–1985), he wrote alongside many of the Style Masters of his generation, including his brother Kel First, Dondi White, Crash, Kase2, Noc167. He was among the early train writers to make studio works in the 1980s. During this period he was also associated with the famed Rock Steady Crew, a pioneering group of dancers in the Breaking community. While not a dancer, he was an avid student and learned first hand the inner workings of Breaking, and would develop a life long love for the art form., In 1984, Mare would venture into making Graffiti sculptures, pioneering a novel approach and theory about translating his art in proximity to early European Modernist movements like Cubism, Italian Futurism and Russian Constructivism. Mare would go on to introduce broader creative and academic meaning for Urban Art with aims of integration across all creative disciplines and urging artist to “Make art of your time with the Tools of your time.”, In 2005, Carlos Mare began an artistic project revolving around the dance of Breaking. The B-Boy Abstracts series illustrates his exploration of the dancers physically, movement and intention. He breaks down the body into simple form, distilling line, volume, and dynamic movement into a series of simple geometric shapes. Recognizable elements allow the viewer to identify the human figure much like a child’s stick figure drawing or even an ancient hieroglyphic.,

“Carlos Mare’s Bboy characters, so refined and visually direct, become coded representations of the dancer’s repertoire of movements and poses. In much the same way that staffed symbols are used to represent the written form of musical notation, so too the simple, gestural icons come to express a visual codification, a defined scale of available movements.” , Robert Smith

, FloorMaster . HeadSpinna . M139 . BackSpinna . Swipes.

New York graffiti icon Carlos “Mare” Rodriguez, born in Manhattan and raised in the South Bronx, began his artistic career in 1976, painting on trains under the name “Mare139”. As a member of the golden age of subway graffiti (1976–1985), he wrote alongside many of the Style Masters of his generation, including his brother Kel First, Dondi White, Crash, Kase2, Noc167. He was among the early train writers to make studio works in the 1980s. During this period he was also associated with the famed Rock Steady Crew, a pioneering group of dancers in the Breaking community. While not a dancer, he was an avid student and learned first hand the inner workings of Breaking, and would develop a life long love for the art form.

In 1984, Mare would venture into making Graffiti sculptures, pioneering a novel approach and theory about translating his art in proximity to early European Modernist movements like Cubism, Italian Futurism and Russian Constructivism. Mare would go on to introduce broader creative and academic meaning for Urban Art with aims of integration across all creative disciplines and urging artist to “Make art of your time with the Tools of your time.”

In 2005, Carlos Mare began an artistic project revolving around the dance of Breaking. The B-Boy Abstracts series illustrates his exploration of the dancers

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physically, movement and intention. He breaks down the body into simple form, distilling line, volume, and dynamic movement into a series of simple geometric shapes. Recognizable elements allow the viewer to identify the human figure much like a child’s stick figure drawing or even an ancient hieroglyphic.

“Carlos Mare’s Bboy characters, so refined and visually direct, become coded representations of the dancer’s repertoire of movements and poses. In much the same way that staffed symbols are used to represent the written form of musical notation, so too the simple, gestural icons come to express a visual codification, a defined scale of available movements.” — Robert Smith

FloorMaster • HeadSpinna • M139 • BackSpinna • Swipes

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Hispanic Americans. A significant historical year for this entry is 2005.

Location. 25° 48.076′ N, 80° 11.996′ W. Marker is in Miami, Florida, in Miami-Dade County. It is in the Wynwood Art District. It can be reached from Northwest 26th Street just west of Northwest 2nd Avenue, on the left when traveling west. The marker standds on the grounds of Wynwood Walls, the open-air museum, and cannot be viewed without the purchase of an entrance ticket. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 232 NW 26th St, Miami FL 33127, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, January 24, 2026

2. Carlos “Mare” Rodriguez Marker

The marker introduces Mare139's B-boy Abstracts series, visible in the rear of the photo.

Regionally, this marker is in South Florida

and on the Gold Coast.

It is also in the American South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Wynwood Walls (within shouting distance of this marker); Miami City Cemetery (approx. 0.7 miles away); Miami Stadium (approx. 0.7 miles away); Arthur Lee McDuffie (approx. 0.8 miles away); Jesse L. Holt, Jr. Track (approx. 0.9 miles away); Buena Vista Post Office ~ Moore Furniture Building (approx. one mile away); The Art Deco Tower (approx. 1.2 miles away); Judge Lawson Edward Thomas Law Office (approx. 1.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Miami.

Also see . . . Mare139.

As a sculptor, Carlos Mare139 Rodriguez's breakthrough was with the metal "K" sculpture in 1985. This led to a series of large-scale sculptures that were true to graffiti lettering format, but peeled and folded into space. By 1986, the sculptures departed from the common vernacular of writing to the more complex study Constructivist, Cubist and Futurist ideas, but yet retained its initial feel of graffiti-style writing.

(Submitted on January 26, 2026, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York.)

The Wynwood Walls image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, January 24, 2026

3. The Wynwood Walls

These sculptures are among the dozens of works on display at the Wynwood Walls street art museum.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 26, 2026, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York. This page has been viewed 24 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 26, 2026, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.