39″x27.5″; mixed media on paper; 2020
COLLAGE ON VIEW
Elizabeth Castaldo: Proximate Magic
at the Board Room & Gallery in O’Connor Hall at Saint Joseph’s University in Patchogue, New York, USA
14 November-10 December 2020
“Proximate Magic” is a solo exhibition of recent work by Elizabeth Castaldo. A virtual artist talk takes place on November 17th at 12:40PM.
Through her mixed media works, Castaldo explores the relationships between nature and the feminine. Moving beyond the oft quoted spiritual relationship, she explores the political aspects of the confluence of women’s and environmental issues. Her work employs combinations of drawing, printmaking, collage and paper cutting in works that are both beautiful to look at and deep with meaning. For the work featured in “Proximate Magic”, Castaldo uses mixed media, collage, and printmaking to push the limits of pattern and layering. With intricate hand drawn patterns, ink drawing, collage, and watercolor washes, she creates richly layered surfaces that reference patterns found in nature and the body. A new series of works on paper depicts figures, overflowing with flowers, that morph into one another and into their surroundings. These works explore the Divine Feminine and the search for a new power grounded in love and healing rather than in domination. They celebrate pure sensuality and the interconnectedness of life on earth.
Elizabeth Castaldo is an artist, printmaker, and bookbinder living and working in Peekskill and New York, New York. She holds an MFA from SCAD Atlanta and a BFA from the School of Visual Arts. She has completed residencies at the Center for Book Arts, NYC and Printmaker’s Open Forum. In 2019, several of Castaldo’s artist’s books were included in the traveling exhibition, “Freed Formats: The Book Reconsidered”. She organized the exchange portfolio “Earth/Mother” for the SGCI 2020 conference “Puertografico”, which asks participants to create an original print that considers the intersection of women’s rights with environmental issues. Elizabeth teaches printmaking and book arts at Parsons School of Design and the Center for Book Arts. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is held in many private and institutional collections.
(text adapted from the gallery’s press materials)
INFORMATION
Board Room & Gallery
O’Connor Hall
Saint Joseph’s College
155 West Roe Boulevard
Patchogue, New York 11772 USA
(631) 687-1434
Hours:
Contact the gallery at (631) 687-1434 for more information