source: ateliervisit
Jane Castillo was born in Los Angeles, California to a Colombian immigrant family. Exposed to two cultures simultaneously, her interest in family and cultural history was sparked. Her lineage also includes that of Pilipino, African, Spanish, and Indigenous Colombian which has had a profound influence on her work as an active artist in her community.

Professionally, she goes by her last name Castillo. By doing so, she pays homage to her ancestors, family and friends (all the same to her) who are often the helping hands behind her work. This way, everyone involved with seeing her pieces to fruition is credited with the family name Castillo on wall labels, catalogs, and press releases.

She attended California State University at Fullerton, graduating in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in Art Education. She later earned a Master of Fine Arts from Claremont Graduate University in sculpture.

Castillo enjoys the exploration of materials and their identity. The definition, purpose, and typical perception of materials inform her work. Presenting materials in a new way that embodies layers of meaning, while not denying their identity remains a fascination.

Her love of art and artists have led her to pursue curatorial projects in addition to her own growing art exhibition schedule.
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source: caamuseumorg
Jane Castillo was born in Los Angeles, California, to Colombian immigrant parents. Her interest in cultural history and family was sparked while exposed to two cultures at once. Her ancestry also includes Pilipino, African, Spanish, and Indigenous Colombian people, which has had a profound influence on her work as an active artist in her community.

Professionally, she goes by her last name Castillo. By doing so, she pays homage to her ancestors, family and friends who are often the helping hands behind her work.

Castillo attended California State University at Fullerton, graduating in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in Art Education. She later earned a Master of Fine Arts from Claremont Graduate University in sculpture. For over twenty years, Castillo has exhibited her work in California and abroad, and she has been the recipient of many prestigious awards, among them, the Department of Cultural Affairs’ C.O.L.A. Award in 2008-2009.

Retrato I, Retrato II, and Mona, are three oversized domes covered with black and blonde hair. Their imposing presence imbues hair with a larger-than-life personality, presenting it in an unconventional form that creates oppositional tensions about the familiar turned unfamiliar.

In this work, Castillo explores the peculiar sacredness of our relationship with hair, a part of our own body over which we simultaneously lack and exert control. Legends, rituals, folktales, individual identities, DNA sampling, stereotypes, sacredness, attachment, value and care, all are centered on our hair. As a symbol, hair is universally and psychologically powerful.

My work has hints of ancestral, historical symbolism. Though I manipulate materials, I enjoy maximizing their beauty by presenting them minimally altered yet in no way denying or changing their identity. Materials are selected for their historical relevance and presented larger than life, embodying multiple layers of meaning. The work becomes an aesthetic statement, social commentary, homage to ancestors, and conceptual storytelling. C.