Joe Castro


Congratulations, You Caught the Bouquet
17″x13″; paper on paper; 2012

Joe Castro
Prospect Park, Pennsylvania, USA

STATEMENT

My collage work is primarily graphic in nature and often as much about the form that is created as the content. I don’t work digitally–everything is hand cut with an exacto and pasted down. I enjoy the challenge of limitation, of having to figure out how to take a specific collection of images and bring them together into a form that then takes on a life of its own. Mentally, moving the pieces of paper around is like a never ending game of chess. I take a great deal of inspiration from vintage movie posters–I like the idea of expressing an entire story through one image. I explore many themes, including devolution and the trappings of a society that’s obsessed with new technology and driven to consume at all costs.

BIO

Joe Castro is an accomplished Philadelphia-based collage artist, musician (The Lift Up), oil painter and graphic designer. His paintings and collages have been exhibited in galleries and art spaces across the United States, Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom. They have been described as “intelligent and brooding…the subjects are often just a little-bit skewed–leading you to take a deeper look.”

In 2010, he was one of 6 artists selected by Vans and Color Magazine to customize one pair of canvas sneakers, which were displayed in art shows in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. In 2012, two of his collages were among 80 accepted into the National Collage Society’s 28th Annual Juried Art Exhibit at the Berman Museum. And in 2013, his work will be featured in an exhibit honoring the influence of Jack Kerouac at the Leeds College of Art in England. His collage work has been featured online at anormalmag.com (Chile), emptymirrorbooks.com, recycledminds.com and cqjournal.com.

ARTIST CONTACT

[click to email]
www.mightyjoecastro.com

IMAGES


Everything We Love Is Slowly Becoming Fiction
15″x15″; paper on paper; 2013


Tornado Alley
15″x13″; paper on paper; 2012