Contemporary artist Andres Felipe Castaño likes to highlight the different layers that define a region like Latin America which comes from a colonial heritage and with a set of behaviours, practices and traditions hybridised between different cultures.
If I could define my style, I would say it is freestyle.
Contemporary artist Andres Felipe Castaño
Featured image: Hang out at Karen Huber Gallery, Mexico City. 2019. Image courtesy: Octavio Rivadaneira. Contemporary artist Andres Felipe Castaño.
Contemporary artist Andres Felipe Castaño. Artist portrait courtesy Marisa Arce Zencich.
Artist Interview
You can say that my first work of art was made in a hospital.
Contemporary artist Andres Felipe Castaño.
Please tell us a little about yourself. What brought you to the world of art and how did you start?
I am a visual artist. Born in Bogotá, Colombia, and currently living between Córdoba, Argentina and Mexico City. I started my artistic career some ten years ago, after a car accident. During the recovery sessions I started to draw to regain the strength of the arm and the hand, I discovered that it was an activity that I liked a lot and also, I was very good.
After that, I devoted myself full time to developing skills in the field of drawing and then painting. I went to Mexico City to study a master’s degree in fine arts. You can say that my first work of art was made in a hospital. After the master’s degree, I took part in different educational programs for artists in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. At the same time, I had the opportunity to develop artistic projects in Costa Rica, Colombia, Bolivia, Norway and Uganda through artistic residencies.
What is the primary role of an artist? How do you describe yourself in the context of challenging people’s perspectives via your work?
As I got deeper into the art world, I began to wonder about my role as an artist, what should I communicate with my works of art? What is my role in society? Taking into account at that time the art world was something new I decided to unite my personal interests with what I did in my artistic work. Little by little, the themes of a social, economic and political nature became more visible in my work. After experimenting with various techniques and living certain experiences, I began to create projects that unite the symbolic of a specific context; new materialities and actions that challenge viewers’ beliefs.
I like to generate in the public a critical reflection on the context in which we live. Especially in a region like Latin America, where we come from a colonial heritage and with a set of behaviours, practices and traditions hybridised between different cultures. I like to highlight these different layers that define this region.
How do you deal with the conceptual difficulty and uncertainty of creating work?
Linking a conceptual need with the creation of a work of art when you travel in a territory as diverse as Latin America is, it is easy, it becomes very natural. Personally, I always have many ideas accumulated in notebooks. Due to lack of time or sometimes because of interest, these remain only in words. Others, due to various factors, time and correct space, arise organically and I can easily develop them. I have always considered that every aspect of the artwork must be connected.
Serie Roseta El Rapto de Europa 30. 130 x 89 cm. 2019. Contemporary artist Andres Felipe Castaño
What would you call your style? Let’s talk about the evolution of your practice over the years. Tell us about your commitment to your current medium.
As my activity and my interests lead me to develop projects in different parts of the world, I have adapted. I have a way of working that develops on the go, depending on the tools at hand. If I could define my style, I would say it is freestyle. My large projects have in common the means in which I develop them, the drawing and the video. In both cases the discipline or medium must have a conceptual value within the work. I like to take each technique that I use to make a work further. In the case of drawing I constantly experiment with materials, ways of exhibiting. I like to see how a concept can redefine drawing and in my video projects I constantly seek to reflect on the same image moving and sound.
What inspires you? Let’s talk about your frameworks, references and process.
Speaking about inspiration, I consider myself a sponge. I live between two countries, Mexico and Argentina, apart from that; I was born in another country that is in the middle of those two. Which means that I constantly move in a wide territory of heterogeneities. Thus, an archaeological site near Mexico City, African rituals in the Caribbean, Colombian music, a pre-Hispanic vessel of some ancient culture between Peru and Bolivia, The desert in Chile or the economic crisis in Argentina can inspire me.
Within my practice and my work process is always the historical knowledge of the place where I make a project. Automatically I begin to make relationships between local customs and traditions and how these were intervened by historical processes. Reading critical positions on the notions of territory, nation and state in Latin America is another aspect that inspires me a lot to create; I consider that I have a social weight within the communities where I live.
Let’s talk about your career, or if you prefer artistic journey. What were your biggest learning?
I remember two moments, in 2015, I was part of an artistic residence in Norway, it was winter and I was in the northern part of a Nordic country. The residence is in a very small town of around 1000 inhabitants next to a fjord. The few hours of daylight that I had per day, allowed me to walk through the forest and venture into nature.
I made an effort to produce something, to be faithful to my style, but I realised that my way of working was not compatible with the place, the chaos I am used to living in cities like Buenos Aires, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro or Ciudad from Mexico, it wasn’t, all the daily visual impulse that I was used, it wasn’t. As I was literally lost in a beautiful Norwegian winter landscape. I panicked, because I did not understand where the mental block came from that did not allow me to do my job . I was terrified, I was out of my comfort zone, so at that moment I realised what my work process was like, just at the moment when nothing worked well.
Any hiccups along the way?
Finally, I rethought my work strategies and accommodated some things within my process, which allowed me to carry out my project. Another moment, happened when I went to Uganda to do a project, before I arrived I had many concerns about what I was going to find there, I asked myself, How are things there? Will I have the same problems I had in Norway? Within a few weeks of arriving everything was very similar to what I knew, surprisingly Uganda did not give me surprises, which made me think that the limitations are only in our minds, and out there is everything we need.
Portrait at Salon Acme, Mexico City, 2018. Image courtesy: Marisa Arce Zencich. Contemporary artist Andres Felipe Castaño.
What are you looking for when you look at other artists’ work? Which shows, performances and experiences have shaped your own creative process? Who are your maestros?
I have had the opportunity to share moments with many great artists, artists that I consider to be influential. Minerva Cuevas, Yoshua Okon or Daniel Guzmán who are very close to me. I really like the work of Elmgreen & Dragset, Simon Starling, Wilfredo Prieto, Allora & Calzadilla, Danh Vö and Anri Sala for the type of problems that mobilise their works, in addition to the twists and turns that their works have.
How does your interaction with a curator, gallery or client evolve, from the initial interface to working-relationship?
I try to relate to people with whom I follow a common goal. Before collaborating and working with a gallery, I have to be sure that we both have the same vision of what art is and what is expected of it. Fortunately, with the two galleries with which we work together in Mexico and Argentina, the relationship has been very natural and organic, which is important in any job. I believe that the main thing is to believe in the project in the medium and long term. Regarding the relationship and interaction with curators, clear communication is vital. Trusting in the curatorial project and working together is very important. In both cases, there must be a connection between both parties. Because the result of these relationships allows evolution between all those involved.
Think of the biggest professional risk you’ve taken. What helped you take that risk?
I think the biggest risk I took was to leave everything behind to dedicate myself to art full time. Another risk I took was to move and live between two countries so far apart; this helped me to understand myself more as a person, which it was reflected into my job.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve received? Any mentor, curator or gallerist who deserves a special mention for furthering your journey?
The best advice I have received came from my grandmother, one afternoon she said to me:
“If you are going to dedicate yourself to something throughout your life, that what you do comes from passion and not from necessity, because if it comes from passion, you will feel free”.
Contemporary artist Andres Felipe Castaño.
American Fist. Contemporary artist Andres Felipe Castaño.
Tell us about your studio, what kind of place is it? Could you describe your usual work-day?
My studio is very characteristic, as I constantly move around different countries my workplace can be from a small hotel room, the gallery or museum, to an abandoned cellar. I always carry the same thing to every place I go, my camera, my sound recording equipment, a tripod, 2 sketchbooks and a box of graphite pencils. My usual day is not to be habitual.
How does your audience interact and react to the work you put out into the world?
My work in drawing and painting turns out to be quite peculiar, since it needs the viewer to interact with the work, approaching, moving away, moving around. The audience reacts many times with surprise, since they think that the work was done digitally. But when they get closer, they realise that it is a drawing or a painting. Regarding my video work, the public reflects on the topics I use, many people have approached me to comment on their analysis or their point of view on the political, social and economic issues that I deal with and they put it to debate with their point. Which is very enriching for them and for me.
What are you working on now? What’s coming next season?
I am currently making a series of paintings that handle pre-Hispanic symbology and Latin American popular aesthetics. My new work emphasises the hybridisation or miscegenation of many traditions and daily customs in this region. On the other hand, I am developing a series of installations. These reflect on the methods of protest that emerged in South American countries and that were adopted worldwide. Given the global emergency, many of the plans for this year have been passed for next year or do not yet have a specific date.
Hang out at Karen Huber Gallery, Mexico City. 2019. Contemporary artist Andres Felipe Castaño. Image courtesy: Octavio Rivadaneira.
What were you working on when the lockdown was announced?
I was making a series of large-format paintings in which I return to vases and ceramics with sexual connotations from pre-Hispanic cultures. Resuming the sexual practices of ancient Latin American cultures as opposed to the ethics and morals inherited from Catholicism after the European invasion of the American continent. At first I had to stop production, as I was unable to purchase supplies because art supply stores were closed. Then a few weeks later they reopened under security protocols or home delivery. I am currently developing these paintings as part of a grant awarded earlier this year. In parallel, I am in the pre-production phase of two sculptural projects that speak of the current situation in which everyone lives.
How has this affected your practice and plans?
The inability to move freely around different places has been what I have felt most during this quarantine, many plans and events were postponed indefinitely. On the other hand, this pause caused by the pandemic has allowed me to think and resume various projects that I had not had time to work on. Another aspect that I have taken advantage of in this pause is the strengthening of my presence on the internet, both on social networks and on the website. As well as in conjunction with galleries we have held online events to support charitable causes.
Work that is part of the project – Sobre el poder. About Power at Bikini Wax, Mexico City. Contemporary artist Andres Felipe Castaño. 2015. Image courtesy Ramiro Chaves.
What would elevate artists’ life during this period?
I think that one of the most important aspects that the pandemic situation has revealed is the little state support for the cultural sector, with artists being the most affected in this type of setting. On the other hand, these chaotic moment have become valuable tools that were not very strong even within the work of the artists, such as working on social networks or even the use of digital platforms to move between events that previously brought together many people. Exhibitions, art fairs, auctions, talks, etc. They have given us a new way of getting to know the work of more people and making artists who were previously unable to access certain spaces visible. I think it has become more accessible both for people and for artists, curators, cultural managers, collectors, gallery owners, Museum managers see new proposals from home.
What kind of critical inputs does the art world need at this moment to overcome the loss of income and opportunity as a direct result of the worldwide lock-downs?
The most important thing is to give the importance it deserves to artists in general. Lately in countries like Argentina, Mexico, Italy, Brazil, Spain to name a few examples; artists have built a series of guidelines to protect ourselves. In the field of the arts, many legal, financial and labor gaps directly affect the artist’s work and life. The state should be the world’s largest collector and sponsor of art. And in several places, we are lobbying through proposals to change the conditions of artists in various regions of the world.
How are you balancing life and work at home during this period?
For me that has been a constant problem, I can never have an established order. I am a disaster in that regard, but I believe that the best things come from chaos and the unpredictable.
Before you go – you might like to browse our Artist Interviews. Interviews of artists and outliers on how to be an artist. Contemporary artists on the source of their creative inspiration.