Jorge Castillo

Biographical Sketch

Jorge Castillo (actually Jorge José Castillo Casalderrey) was born in Pontevedra (in the region of Galicia, in Spain) on June 16, 1933. He is a Spanish Surrealist along with Mattà and Lam, and an Informal painter, as well as etcher and sculptor. In 1934 his family emigrated to Argentina because of political problems. First his mother left with Jorge's 8-year-old sister, then his father followed with the one-year-old Jorge, whom he had to hide in a basket and smuggle through the border. Thus begins one of the most dramatic of artists' biographies. The family reunites in Argentina. At 22 years of age, Castillo returns to Europe. The artist has lived since 1962 partially in Catalonia (Barcelona) and partially in New York. In Central Europe, Latin America and the USA, Jorge Castillo is considered to be 'one of the most renowned artists on the international scene'.

In the Plaça de Sants in Barcelona stands his Hommage to the Cyclist, a huge relief-type sculpture of reinforced steel. Jorge Castillo is considered one of the most important contemporary Spanish artists. Dream and reality are poetically combined in Castillo's work, which includes painting, sculpture, drawings and prints. ek

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References:

Werner Haftmann: Jorge Castillo. Berliner National Galerie (Catalogue) 1971;

Charles Goerg wrote the first commented catalogue of his etchings, Geneva Copper Etching Gallery 1971;

Kunsthalle Darmstadt (Catalogue), 1972;

Ullstein Verlag published a collection of books with etchings by Jorge Castillo, 1972.

Wieland Schmid: Jorge Castillo. Das druckgraphische Werk. Kestner Gesellschaft, Hannover 1973;

Francesc Vicens: Jorge Castillo. Dibuixos i Aiguades. Galeria Joan Prats / La Polígrafa S.A, Barcelona. 1976; Hermann Haftmann: Jorge Castillo, Monograph, Propyläen Verlag, Berlin 1977;

Carter Ratcliff, N.Y.: Jorge Castillo, Monograph, Rizzoli International Publications 1984;

Jorge Castillo (Catalogue) Palau de la Virreina, Barcelona 1990.

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Notes:

The references given are not meant as a list of the best works available on the subject, but simply reflect the author's sources.

Registers and catalogues of works are included when known and correspond to the information given in the index.