Robert Vargas is a Chicago-based artist and professor whose work explores the intersections of data, politics, and history. Vargas transforms datasets and archives into layered, abstract, expressive paintings. His practice challenges the idea of data as neutral or objective, revealing its deep entanglement with power, emotion, and the built environment. His paintings incorporate a range of techniques from stenciling and projection-based transfers to acrylics, spray paint, and unconventional mark-making tools blending structure and spontaneity. Vargas’s work has been exhibited in galleries and public spaces, engaging audiences in conversations about forces shaping city life.