Jorge Castillo - A self-taught path to art and Surrealism
Jorge Castillo was born on 16th June 1933 in Pontevedra, Spain. When he was just one year old, his family left Spain, which was torn apart by riots and unrest, and emigrated to Argentina, where he spent his childhood and youth in Buenos Aires. There, Jorge Castillo developed an early interest in art and initially acquired his first skills in painting and drawing as a self-taught artist. His studies at the Escuela de Bellas Artes de Buenos Aires, which he began in 1941, only lasted a short time because the unconventional young man did not like the academic boundaries and guidelines. Jorge Castillo therefore remained self-taught as an artist, but at the same time trained as a technical draughtsman. His contact with the Argentinian artist Raquel Forner proved extremely fruitful, and an inspiring exchange and intensive collaboration developed with the respected Surrealist. In 1955, Castillo finally returned to his native Spain, where he initially settled in Madrid.
First exhibition in Madrid and international breakthrough
Jorge Castillo remained true to Surrealism and in the 1950s created mainly gouaches and ink drawings in this style, a selection of which he had the chance to present at his first solo exhibition at the Galería Altamira in Madrid in 1959. In the early 1960s, Castillo moved to Barcelona, but soon moved on to Paris, where he stayed for two years to study. In 1966, his path led him to Geneva, and he lived in Switzerland for almost three years until 1969. The nuclear accident in Palomares, in which an American long-range bomber carrying nuclear bombs crashed, was a decisive and formative experience for Castillo. This accident, in which radioactive plutonium was released, not only led to many years of diplomatic disputes between Spain and the USA, but also inspired Jorge Castillo to create a large-format triptych, with which he attracted a great deal of international attention. In 1968, he was able to exhibit it alongside three other works at the 4th Documenta in Kassel. He subsequently received a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service and in 1969 moved to Berlin.
Celebrated artist with a busy international exhibition schedule
In 1975, Jorge Castillo returned temporarily to Barcelona where he created numerous monumental works that characterised public spaces in Spanish cities such as Barcelona, Messina and La Coruña. In the 1980s, he ventured across the pond and quickly established himself as a successful artist in New York City. As a welcome and celebrated guest, he took part in numerous exhibitions and art fairs, including the São Paolo Biennale in 1964 and the Venice Biennale in 1968. Jorge Castillo has received prizes and awards for his impressive work, including the Wilhelm Loth Prize in Darmstadt in 1975.
Jorge Castillo lives and works today in Barcelona, Berlin and New York.
Jorge Castillo - Works that have already been sold at Kunsthaus Lempertz:
