About: Vincent Castiglia

Castiglia’s paintings are monochromatic tableaux examining life, death, and the human condition. While many surrealists cite fantasy or dreams as their inspiration, Castiglia’s canvases are connected to a life story which is highly allegorical.

The archetypal figures in Castiglia’s work embody the finitude of human existence. The viewer is presented with the symbiosis of birth and death. The images themselves, as he sees them, form as crystallizations of his experiences, freed from the psyche; the viewer is not only allowed to see into the figure, but also through it, into a deeper psychological world.

Vincent Castiglia is the 1st American artist to receive a solo exhibition invitation from Oscar Award-winning artist H.R. Giger to exhibit in the H. R. Giger Museum Gallery. “Remedy for the Living”, the 1st solo exhibition of paintings by Vincent Castiglia opened on November 1st 2008 and ran for 6 months, closing in April of 2009.

2010 marked the Film and Music debut for Castiglia’s art. MTV New Media’s Horror-Slasher Film, “Savage County”, features as it’s official movie poster a painting by Vincent Castiglia, depicting the three murderers in the film. The film, directed by David Harris, also features producers David Gale (Varsity Blues) and Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow). Leading the cast is Mimi Michaels (Boogeyman 3). Savage County is described as a tribute to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Earlier in the year, Castiglia painted album art for Triptykon’s 2010 debut release, “Eparistera Daimones”. The group is founded by former Hellhammer / Celtic Frost singer and guitarist Tom Gabriel Fischer. The album’s art is an amalgamation of works by HR Giger (cover art), Vincent Castiglia (interior art), and Triptykon on “Eparistera Daimones”, which conceptually is understood to form a creative triptych in itself.

His work hangs in many distinguished international collections; one of his most celebrated works of 2006, “Gravity” was recently acquired by Rock legend Gregg Allman.

Castiglia’s paintings have been exhibited at museums and galleries in the US, and internationally,including Meta Gallery (Toronto, Canada), CoproGallery, (Santa Monica, California), Last Rites Gallery (New York) The Museum of Sex (New York), The Museum Of Porn In Art, (Switzerland), The HR Giger Museum Gallery, (Switzerland), , The Mall Gallery (London, England) Canvas Los Angeles (Los Angeles California), Meta Gallery (Toronto, Canada) Fuse Gallery (New York), Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center (Ft. Myers, Florida), Art @ Large Gallery (New York) Gallery Lombardi (Austin Texas), L’imagerie Gallery (Hollywood, California), Museo De La Cuidad De Mexico, (Mexico), Sacred Gallery (New York) C-Pop Gallery (Detroit, Michigan), Shooting Gallery (San Francisco, CA), Seed Gallery (Newark, New Jersey), The 7th Annual Dirty Show (Detroit, Michigan), The Congregation Gallery (Hollywood, California), and many more.

His work has been featured on FOX News, CNBC, BBC, New York 1 News, Spike TV, The Discovery Channel, and The Science Channel. Castiglia was also recently a guest on the Jay Thomas Show on Sirius XM Radio. His work has been explored by countless art and culture publications, in the US and internationally, including the New York Post, New York Daily News, The Huffington Post, Art Business News, International Business Times, as well as Lexikon Der Phantastischen Künstler “The international encyclopedia of fantastic, surrealistic, symbolist, & visionary artists”.

MEDIUM:

The entire collection of paintings by Vincent Castiglia is created exclusively in human blood(which anhydrates as “iron oxide”).

Blood is technically considered to be a tissue. It is made up of approximately 55% plasma, a yellowish clear fluid, which is 90% water by volume. Castiglia’s figures, their musculature and skin, are painted with what could be thought of as “liquid flesh”. Its tendency to quicken the subjects is likely inapproachable by any other medium—as it is actual tissue with which it is being rendered. In this way the subject’s realism is not merely an optical illusion due to it’s level of detail, but rather is an actual transference of flesh and blood to each work.

In the privacy of his studio, Castiglia practices a kind of modern-day phlebotomy, siphoning the life force which contains his own psychic energy, while giving it an outlet and form. In doing so, he dissolves the barrier between artist and art in a most literal and immediate sense.