 artist profile | curriculum vitae |
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Since the eighties, Post-avant-guard languages prevail in the Western cultural scene. In our country, the only Post-avant-guard movement was the Neonacionalist one, which implied a critical vision of the components of the so called national identity. But this circumstance does not mean that the rest of our Post-avant- guard painter are simply colonized. Fortunately, there are those who have been able to use current languages while maintaining an unsubmissive position towards external norms. This is the case of Agustín Castro.
The outstanding characteristics of Castro’ paintings are: iconographic and stylistic eclecticism; the use of a figure painting that, although not anchored in new figure painting (that of the fifties, sixties and seventies) it is not academic either as well as appropriation of images or concepts from different periods of art history. All these are typically Post-avant-guard resources. However along whit those, there is a criticism and self-criticism of artistic culture, of painting and of the artist’ work itself. This, for example, distinguishes Castro Post-avant-guard work from most of his European and North American colleagues. And there is something else. This artist includes references to his time and place in his paintings. There are signals which allow us to detect their Mexican origin and to date them. These contributions, along with the formal and technical virtuosity, make of Castro an outstanding artist at a national and international level, and they prove he has the important doses of daring artists are expected to have. |