Carolyn Castaño (born 1971 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, CA), is an American

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

. She is the recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant for Painters and Sculptors (2013), the California Community Foundation Getty Fellow Mid-Career Grant (2011), and the City of Los Angeles Individual Artist Grant (2011). She is an Assistant Professor, Drawing & Painting, at

Long Beach City College Long Beach City College (LBCC) is a public community college in Long Beach, California. It was established in 1927 and is divided into two campuses, the Liberal Arts Campus in Lakewood Village and the Pacific Coast Campus in central Long Beach ...

. Castaño creates portraits utilizing painting (watercolor and acrylic), drawing and collage. Her portrait subjects are often adorned with glittery and ornate accessories, bold hairstyles, color, and patterns referencing the world of high fashion. Some of her portraits feature a character named "Betty Ramirez," the artist's alter ego, with visual references to Mexican Golden Age cinema and Italian neorealism. Other portraits are based on photographs that are then translated into painting. For example, her series of paintings titled "Hair Boys" is based on photographs of friends donning hairstyles from past decades and even centuries.

Education

* MFA, University of California, Los Angeles, 2001. * Skowhegan, School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, Maine, 1996. * BFA, San Francisco Art Institute, 1995.

Exhibitions

* "Carolyn Castaño - A Female Topography 2001-2017." Laband Gallery, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA. 2017. *"El Jardin Femenil Y Otros Ocasos."

Walter Maciel Gallery Walter Maciel Gallery is an art gallery founded in 2005, located at 2642 S. La Cienega Boulevard, in the Culver City Arts District in Los Angeles, California, United States. Walter Maciel worked as a gallery director in San Francisco for fourteen ...

, Los Angeles, CA. 2012. *"It’s Complicated."

, Los Angeles, CA. 2009. *"Liquid Los Angeles: Contemporary Watercolor Art in Los Angeles."

Pasadena Museum of California Art The Pasadena Museum of California Art (PMCA) was an art museum located in Pasadena, California, United States, showcasing art and design originating from California. The museum was founded by long-time Pasadena residents and art collectors Robert ...

, Pasadena, CA. 2005. * "Semi-Precious."

Public Art Fund Public Art Fund is an independent, non-profit arts organization founded in 1977 by Doris Freedman, Doris C. Freedman. The organization presents contemporary art in New York City's public spaces through a series of highly visible artists' projects, n ...

, New York, NY. 2004. * "Against Nature." Lombard-Freid Fine Arts, New York, NY. 2004. * "International Paper: Drawings by Emerging Artists." Hammer Museum, University of California, Los Angeles, CA. 2003. * "Marked: Bay Area "Drawings." Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery, Hunter College, City University of New York, NY. 2001. * "Sin Titulo: Fragrant Afternoon." Meridian Gallery, San Francisco, CA. 2000. * "The Adventures of Betty Ramirez and Little Miss Attitude." Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA)/San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA. 1999.

References

1971 births Living people 20th-century American painters American collage artists Women collage artists People from Los Angeles 21st-century American painters Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture alumni {{US-painter-stub