Gerardo Castro

I think that anything that is well-crafted and deeply observed is ‘beautiful’. Looking is an act of creation. I am not in control of what the viewer thinks, sees, or feels when looking at my work. Art is a deeply personal, subjective experience.

Acts 2:4 - And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The quatrefoil depicts the opening of the cosmic central axis at the crossroads of the four cardinal directions, representing the passageway between the celestial and the underworld.

Divine Women, Divine Wisdom. Women are a powerful force in our global society. This series upholds and celebrates the stories and perspectives of women of color. Historical icons and modern innovators, who have inspired world change, all of whom are Caribbean / Latina women. Women who holistically - in body, mind, and spirit - transform self, families, communities, and the world. Women are celebrated - shown as saints, heroines, warriors, goddesses, and sages.

For decades, the dominant cultural image of masculinity has included heterosexuality, physical strength, having many children, walking, talking and dressing like a “real” man and/or not crying or showing emotion. Questioning what is masculinity brings with it experiencing high degrees of explicit pressure, verbal and physical, to conform to various aspects of the traditional image of manhood in which there is always a constant need to negotiate masculine identity.  Machismo attitudes often denigrate queer femme men for not subscribing to traditional norms of gender presentation even though many gay men are bolder and freer than “machistas” can even imagine. Oddly enough, far too many of us even in the queer community, femininity in men scares us.  Drag is an art form that allows the artist to transform their face and body in ways that push gender norms and creative boundaries.

Men are not afraid of things, but of how they view them.

In terms of process, one of my goals is to explore the boundary between "high and low art" with a tendency towards Maximalism –piling it on – while treading the line from “enough to never enough.”I take traditional painting and use it in the way its been intended to be employed for five-hundred years and within my process, I incorporate some kind of new unexpected layer of “’low art’” materials in which all these things produce meaning. The color and compositions celebrating the visual texture of my Latino culture - claiming of the Latino identity as a means of empowerment (whether social, political, personal).

Indigo is associated in many cultures with magical and spiritual rituals – probably because of the processes of change it goes through which looks dull green in a vat, emerging into the air- transformed to a vivid blue. Enslaved Africans carried the knowledge of indigo cultivation to the United States, and in the 1700s, the profits from indigo outpaced those of sugar and cotton.

Through simple forms and a straightforward presentation I strive to present the viewer with a color so rich that they are entranced by “burnings” and examine all that lies within a color’s substance. Powerful and dignified, indigo conveys integrity and deep sincerity.

Emanationism is a cosmological theory which asserts that all things "flow" from an underlying principle or reality, usually called the Absolute or Godhead. Any teachings which involve emanation are usually in opposition to "creation out of nothing" as emanation advocates that everything has always existed and has not been "created" from nothing.

We ignorantly believe in the adequacy and assumption that what we don't see does not exist. If you create sharp divisions and cling to narrow definitions of subject and object, whatever you see will always appear in the context of those limitations.

Castro’s Burning Messages created through the use of branding, provide a body of work that pushes its limits by using minimal materials; work that enables a connection to history, a courageous confrontation of meaning and myth.  In the branding drawings the prospect of magic symbols appear artistic as well as mystical- aesthetically compelling, multi-layered and encoded with meaning and beautiful symmetry.  A brand is meant to claim ownership, to stigmatize, to punish or to signify the contents of a vessel and after being branded, the body is transformed physically to enter a new psychic space. But Castro uses branding to take on Magical meaning, a meaning of communication and transformation, where parallels are drawn between the material and the incorporeal. 

The works in this series are branded with branding irons, bolts, chains, nails and various convoluted metal objects as to suggest a “primitive” magical transformation. Images strongly influenced by Castro’s knowledge of indigenous cultures and Afro-Cuban religions in which a belief in a Divine power and a direct connection to that Supreme force are used to divine answers to a specific question or to bring about desired events.   Castro uses ideograms found in these belief systems, sacred symbols (signs), to serve as a catalyst for manifestations: ideograms to call down the spirit to motivate forces into action; a direct connection to nature itself by using the stars, moon, sun to communicate with celestial beings; graphic symbols that represent the identification of a series of supernatural phenomena.

Branding is an unpredictable process. Sometimes marks are made for the pure physical enjoyment of the activity - the feel of the heat from the branding iron, the smell of burning paper but the unpredictable results lead to unconventional and creative results simulating the natural spontaneity found in nature. It’s the discovery of what’s possible. Use of fire is at once a highly sacred element and the representation of Chango - the Fire deity.   The metal is a manifestation of Ogun  - the deity that presides over iron, weapons and metal work. Ogun needs Chango's Fire; Chango needs Ogun's forge and skills.  Each has skills the other does not and they sustain one another.  Simultaneously, “Fire” and every instance of fire and Metal become a manifestation of both deities.  Consequently what is created is the accumulation of using symbols to create a “Sacred” space, the building up and layering of images in which the ritual of fire is a powerfully symbolic gesture.

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Generally, for many Spiritual traditions the crown of the human head is considered a sacred spot, because this is where we connect with the divine, a seat of power in the body, the seat of the orí, (guardian angel or higher self). Afrofuturism Yemaya depicts two images where the “head” is of primary importance regarding cultural symbolism and a visual messenger of POWER: the head wrap and the Afro.

The regal blue color of her head wrap, crowning the beautiful, black, ebony, velvet skin, symbolizes Yemaya’s wealth and status as La Reina del mar -the Queen who lives and rules over the seas. Covering the head generates a certain spiritual state of receptivity and centeredness.  Her place as a queen makes her one of the most important Orishas of “la Corte Celestial” - Santeria's Celestial Court.

The collage side of this piece, a reverse silhouette of the painted Black Queen, manifests her donning an Afro.  In the 1970's the Afro hairstyle emerged into mainstream culture, as a symbol of liberation, a statement in identity of self-love, identify to a genealogy of a race of people in substance, strength and courage; Black Beauty, Black Pride and Black Power; affirmation of Black African heritage, that "Black Is Beautiful," and a rejection of Eurocentric standards of beauty.

Illuminated Shadows encompasses oil paintings and mixed media works inspired by supernatural forces influenced by Afro-Cuban religions and spirituality, more specifically the Santeria religion, as well as culturally dominant fantasies about masculinity and sexuality. Over the years I’ve created images rooted in ethnicity and gender that have escaped the trappings of popularized constructions of Latino identity, be it through their androgynous looks or mystic creations; androgynous male figures, figures at once muscular and yet recognizably “feminine” in some of their poses and expressions. 

The juxtaposition of the painted male figure to the dark Shadow plays a major factor not only in the composition and structure of the painting but also symbolically, there exists an interaction of the sacred and the secular.  In the Shadow, I use ideograms found in indigenous religions as an inspiration for personal and spiritual transformation. The symbols are a Spiritualized drawing that connects the signatures of the entities and forces with symbols that represent a given change in the world that we want the spiritual force to accomplish.  All rights reserved.

My approach to the studio and painting comes from an intuitive relationship that I develop with the people that surround me, along with my Spiritual beliefs, environment, memories and culture.  All rights reserved..

Castro creates pieces that at times can masquerade as quilts and quilts that masquerade as paintings. But his work is not about blurring the boundaries between art and craft its about redefining contemporary painting without letting theoretical subject overwhelm or detract from the formal development of the materials. Fabric with beads is a universal and timeless tradition.  All rights reserved.

Afro-Cuban Santeria is a religious system known for its inherited richness, symbolism and rituals.  A religion that is inclusive and not exclusive in its system of beliefs and practices. The powers and energies of these earth forces through the Orishas provide the inspiration and foundation for the Romancing the Gods series. Magic Realism & the Latin culture dictate not only his intense use of color, textures and feelings but he uses them to conjure up images about identity, rituals, spirituality and magic.  All rights reserved.

"The long, long, almost ritualistic process of painting, collaging, ripping, tearing and stitching appeals to me: occupying my hands, freeing my mind.  For me, the process, whether mentally or physically is thrilling, frustrating, challenging and where the real In-Spirit is." 1988-92 Castro's work started to transition. Saints Come Marching In exemplifies an interweaving, of mysticism, homo-eroticism, the high number of deaths from AIDS, the healing potential of the erotic and the Santeria religion... the beginning of the journey. All rights reserved.