Victor Castillo – Three Kings – Fousion Gallery

Victor Castillo

Victor Castillo is a Chilean painter currently residing in Los Angeles, California. He was born in Santiago, Chile in 1973, the same year that military dictatorship was established in his country. Inspired by the animations, science fiction movies and the illustrations on his family’s record covers, he began drawing obsessively at the age of five. Later he studied at University of Art and Social Sciences (ARCIS) and the Catholic University of Chile. Victor joined an independent experimental art collective in Santiago, creating mixed media sculpture and video installations.

Having moved to Barcelona in 2004, he dedicated himself to painting and established his style with references to comics and graffiti. With the time he adopted aspects of classical painting in his work and Victor began to show his work internationally. His exhibition Explicit Lyrics (Barcelona, 2007) was a critical success with the national newspaper El País publishing a full-page article about his tragicomic vision titled “The Triumph of Pop Surrealism.” In 2010 he moved to Los Angeles, where he resides still.

Victor’s work is included in the traveling museum exhibition Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of High Fructose (USA, 2016–17), and in the Les Enfantes Terribles exhibition at the Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art (France, 2011); in international art fairs in Santiago, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Mexico City; as well as in numerous newspapers, magazines, and publications. He has created large-scale indoor murals for the Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA) in Santiago, Chile; The Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center (GAM) in Santiago de Chile, the Museum of Modern Art Chiloé; the Center for Contemporary Culture Barcelona (CCCB), Spain; the Fabricca Del Vapore in Milan, Italy and the Contemporary Istanbul art fair among other installations.

Victor Castillo tells stories in his paintings. As if it was a contemporary chronicle, his work appropriates the narrative logic of illustrations for children’s stories, and the aesthetics of classic animations, to present us with allegories about cruelty, fear, rebellion, greed, indoctrination, violence, and other abuses of power that the artist sees as imposed worldwide. His colorful work has also been described as political poetry coming from the Latin American experience.

 


Show artworks
Exhibitions
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019            
  • Le Pays du Serpent – solo show at Adda & Taxie Gallery, Paris
  • Hello Kitty 45th Anniversary – group show at Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Annual Group Show Mam Chiloe – group show at Museo De Arte Moderno De Chile, Chile
  • The Blab Show/ 14th Annual – group show at Copro Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
2018
  • The Invisible Cage – solo show at Isabel Croxatto Galeria, Santiago, Chile
  • Mystic Detectives – group show at Samek Art Museum, Bucknell University, Pennsylvania, USA
  • Contemporay Istanbul Art Fair – group show at Isabel Croxatto Galeria, Istanbul
  • Pictoplasma Festival Berlin – group show at Kulturkapellen, Berlin
  • Festin De Arte – group show at Isabel Croxatto Gallery, Santiago, Chile
  • Festival Kronos Art Bcn – group show, Barcelona
  • Chaco Art Festival – group show at Isabel Croxatto Gallery, Santiago, Chile
  • Postrauma – group show at Sala Gasco, Santiago, Chile
  • 13th Annual Blab Show – group show at Copro Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Desordenes Sistemicos, Contemporary Art From Chile – group show at Centro Cultural Matta, Buenos Aires
2017        
  • We were all to be Kings – solo show at Jonathan Levine Projects, Jersey City, USA
  • Broken Hearts – KP Projects, Los Angeles
  • Che Guevara “Tu Y Todos” – group show at Fabbrica Del Vapore, Milan, Italy
  • Impresionante – group show at Feria de Publicaciones y Arte Impreso, Santiago, Chile
  • Weapons Of Mass Seduction 2 – group show at Heliumcoboys Art Space, Hamburg, Germany
  • Altrealities – group show at MCA Museum Mesa Contemporary Arts, Mesa, Arizona, Usa
  • Turn The Page: The First Ten Years Of Hi-Fructose – group show at Akron Art Museum, Ohio, USA
  • Chaco Art Fair – group show at Isabel Croxatto Galeria, Santiago, Chile
  • Grand Opening – group show at Avenue Des Arts, Los Angeles
  • Modern Angelenos Show – group show at The Montalban Theater, Los Angeles
  • Cowboyland – group show at Heliumcowboy Artspace, Hamburg, Germany
  • Art Central Art Fair – group show at Isabel Croxatto Gallery, Hong Kong  
2016
  • Born in 73 – solo show at Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Hollywood Dreams – solo show at Galeria Isabel Croxatto, Santiago, Chile
  • The Ultimate First Experience – group show at Hs-Lab Mihara, Hiroshima, Japan
  • 10th Anniversary Exhibition – group show at Corey Heldford Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Eleventh Annual Blab Show – group show at Copro Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Turn The Page: The First Ten Years Of Hi-Fructose – group show at Virginia Museum Of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, USA
  • 142 Jahre Kunst In Hamburg – group show at Heliumcowboy, Hamburg, Germany
  • Art Central Art Fair – group show at Isabel Croxatto Gallery, Hong Kong
  • Beneath The New Waves – group show at Corey Heldford Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Sydney Contemporary Art Fair – group show at Isabel Croxatto Gallery, Sydney
  • Art Copenhagen – group show at Heliumcowboy Artspace, Copenhagen
  • Chaco Art Fair – group show at Isabel Croxatto Gallery, Santiago, Chile
  • The Nightmare In Wonderland – group show at Distinction Gallery, Escondido, Ca, USA
  • We Lovebrow – group show at Mutuo Centro De Arte, Barcelona
  • Peek – group show at Heliumcowboy, Hamburg, Germany
  • Scope Miami – group show at Fifty24mx Gallery, Miami 
  • Scope Basel – group show at Heliumcowboy, Basel, Switzerland 
  • 60 Jahre Kunst in Hamburg – group show at Affenfaust Galerie, Hamburg, Germany
2014        
  • Pure Pleasure – solo show at Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Strange Fiction – solo show at Blokker Gallery, Madrid
  • Weapons Of Mass Seductions – group show at Heliumcowboy, Hamburg, Germany
  • Zona Maco Art Fair – group show at Galeria Isabel Croxatto, Mexico City
  • Chaco Art Fair – group show at  Isabel Croxato Gallery, Santiago, Chile
  • Swab Art Fair – Barcelona
  • 12x12 Art Collector Starter Kit – Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Weart Festival -– Transforma Space, Barcelona
2013
  • Under Heavy Measures – solo show at Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Love Me Two Times – solo show at Isabel Croxatto Gallery, Santiago, Chile
  • Morir, morir, morir – solo show at Megumi Ogita Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
  • An Even Eleven – group show at Shooting Gallery, San Francisco
  • World Printings – group show at Megumi Ogita Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 
  • Overtime – group show at Millernton Gallery, Hamburg, Germany 
  • Tiny Trifecta – group show at Cotton Candy Machine, New York
  • 1Xrun Prints – group show at  Fifty24mx Gallery, Mexico City
  • Chaco Art Fair – group show at Isabel Croxato Gallery, Santiago, Chile
  • Decade 1 – group show at  Varnish Fine Art Gallery, San Francisco
  • Illustrative Festival 2013 Berlin – group show at Direktorenhaus, Berlin 
  • Children Of Revolution – group show at Ego Gallery, Lugano, Switzerland 
  • Urban Superstar – group show at Galleria D’arte Provinciale Santa Chiara, Cosenza, Italy
  • Laluzapalooza – group show at La Luz De Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Pieces Of Heaven – group show at The Art Of Elysium, Los Angeles
2012
  • The Jungle – solo show at Jonathan Levine Gallery, New York
  • Crucifixion – group show at Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles
  • The Great West Coast Migration – group show, Pangeaseed, USA
  • Taetrum Et Dulce: Lux In Tenebris – group show at Distinction Gallery, Escondido, CA, USA
  • Ritorno All’alba / Back To The Sunrise – group show at Alba Fucens Roman Amphitheatre, Rome, Italy
  • Gig! A Revolutionary Art Show – group show at Warner Bros Records, Los Angeles
  • Caprichos De Un Curador – group show at Museo Nacional De Bellas Artes, Santiago, Chile
  • Vinyl Revisionists – group show at Warner Bros Records, Los Angeles
2011
  • Masters of the Universe – solo show at Helium Cowboy Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
  • Rebels with a Cause – solo show at Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Obey Your Master – group show at Exhibit A Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Les Enfants Terribles – group show at Le Plateau, Résonance Biennale De Lyon, Lyon, France
  • Taetrum Et Dulce Show – group show at Mondo Pop Gallery, Rome, Italy
  • Marta Cooper: Remix – group show at Carmichael Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Pop Surrealism Big Bang! – group show at Mondo Pop Gallery, Rome, Italy
  • The Lowbrow Show – group show at Galerie Brugier-Rigail, Paris, France
  • Lucid Dreams – group show at Noel-Baza Fine Art Gallery, San Diego
  • Hi Fructose Group Show – group show at Roq La Rue Gallery, Seattle
2010
  • Strange fruit – solo show at Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Victor Castillo – solo show at London Miles Gallery, London, UK
  • Mountain To Surf – group show at Helium Cowboy Gallery, Hamburg, Germany 
  • Hi-Fructose Magazine – group show at Copro Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Hunt And Gather – group show at Thinkspace Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Swab Art Fair – group show at Iguapop Gallery, Barcelona
  • Too Cool For School – group show at Iguapop Gallery, Barcelona
  • Group Show at GHP Gallery, Toulouse, France
  • Urban Superstar Show Festival 2010 – group show at Museo Madre, Naples, Italy
  • Relationships – group show at Galleri Christoffer Egelund, Copenhagen
  • 2 Años, 2 Dibujos, 20 Artistas – group show at Galería Moro, Santiago, Chile
2009
  • Gameland – solo show at Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles
  • Restless and Wild – solo show at Helium Cowboy Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
  • Apocalypse Wow – group show at Museo De Arte Moderno De Roma, Rome, Italy
  • Arteba Art Fair – group show at Galería Moro, Buenos Aires
  • Festival Urban Art – group show at Buenos Aires
  • Ocho, Mi Mundo Privado – group show at Galería Moro, Santiago, Chile
2008
  • Before Open Sky – solo show at Roq La Rue Gallery, Seattle
  • Explicit Lyrics – solo show at Galería MORO, Santiago, Chile
  • Canto Negro & Brujerias (With Miss Van) – group show at Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Berlin
  • Neopop Factory – group show at Becool Art Space, Rome
  • 5 Years Anniversary – group show at Helium Cowboy Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
  • Scope New York – group show at Iguapop Gallery, New York
  • Scope London – group show at Iguapop Gallery, London
  • Sewn And In/Out – group show at East Asia Contemporary Museum, Shanghai
  • Swab Art Fair – group show at Iguapop Gallery, Barcelona
  • Nomadas del Siglo XXI – group show at Convent San Agusti, Barcelona
  • Bienal del Museo de Bellas Artes – group show at Museo Nacional De Bellas Artes, Santiago, Chile
  • XX Summer Mam Exhibition – group show at Museum Of Modern Art Chiloé, Chiloe, Chile
2007 
  • Explicit Lyrics – solo show at Iguapop Gallery, Barcelona
  • Swen China/Chile – group show at Shang Elements Contemporary Art Museum, Beijing, China
  • The Helping Hounds Of Hell – group show at  Neurotitan + Helium Cowboy, Berlin + Hamburg, Germany
  • What Ever, Cinismo Colorista al Borde del Discurso – group show at Off Limits Art Space, Madrid
  • Bac! 07 Babylon – group show at CCCB Centro de Cultura Contemporánea, Barcelona
  • Iguapop – group show at Helium Cowboy Art Space, Hamburg, Germany
  • Modart at the BMX Master – group show at  Jugenpark, Cologne, Germany
  • Le Jardin des Delices (with Diva) – group show at Desig, Barcelona
  • Barcelona – Paris – Peking — Espace Off Ample, Barcelona, Spain
  • Animal Profane Plutonic – group show at No New Enemies Gallery, Brussels
  • Inoxidable – group show at Galería Santa Fe, Bogota
  • Inoxidable – group show at Iguapop Gallery, Barcelona
2006
  • Un Mundo Feliz – solo show at Galería Marita Segovia, Madrid
  • Pan y Circo – solo show at Galería H10, Valparaíso, Chile
  • We Make Money, No Art – group show at Iguapop Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
  • What Ever, Cinismo Colorista Al Borde Del Discurso – group show at Sala Muncunill, Terrasa, Spain
  • Bosque Desencantado – group show at Bread And Butter, La Santa, Barcelona
  • Cartoon Generation – group show at Espace Off Ample, Barcelona
  • Inoxidable Neopop – group show at Sala Gasco + Galería Braga Menéndez, Santiago, Chile + Buenos Aires
2005
  • Tabu y Exilio – solo show at Iguapop Gallery, Barcelona
  • Children Off Revolution — solo show at Galería Off Ample, Barcelona
  • Bac! 05 International Art Fair – group show at CCCB Centro de Cultura Contemporánea, Barcelona
  • Brigadas al Muro – group show at La Santa Proyectos Culturales, Barcelona
  • Colectiva – group show at Iguapop Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
2004
  • Postizo – solo show at Galería Balmaceda 1215, Santiago, Chile
  • Bac! 04 International Art Fair – group show at CCCB Centro de Cultura Contemporánea, Barcelona
  • Estética Integral, La Nueva Imagen – group show at Centro Cultural de España, Santiago, Chile
  • Proyecto Cubo – group show at  Centro Cultural Borges, Buenos Aires
2003
  • Masacre – solo show at Centro Cultural de España, Santiago, Chile
  • Mas alla del bien y del mal – group show at Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (MAC), Valdivia, Chile
  • Artistas Del Siglo XXI – group show at Centro de Extensión UC, Santiago, Chile
  • Proyecto Cubo – group show at Talleres Caja Negra, Santiago, Chile
2002
  • Speak System, Celda 9 (Km9) – group show at Centro Cultural Borges, Buenos Aires
  • Arte De Hoy, XXV Concurso Amigos del Arte – group show at Parque Arauco, Santiago, Chile 
  • Speak System, Celda 9 (Km9) – group show at Centro de Extensión UC, Santiago, Chile
  • Nuevos Integrantes De La Colección – group show at Museo de Arte Moderno de Chiloe, Chiloe, Chile
2001
  • Quinta Bienal de Video y Nuevos Medios – group show at Museo De Arte Contemporáneo, Santiago, Chile
  • Memento Mori – group show at Centro Cultural Alameda, Santiago, Chile 
  • 17 Tiros o la Noche del Cazador – group show at Talleres Caja Negra, Santiago, Chile
  • 3er Festival De Video P.p.v. – group show at Múltiple La Galería, Santiago, Chile
  • XXIII Concurso De Arte Joven – group show at Sala El Farol, Valparaíso, Chie
1998 / 1999
  • Geometría Transitoria (with Norton Maza) – group show at Sala Negra, Instituto Chileno-Norteamericano De Cultura, Santiago, Chile
  • Concurso Cosapi – group show at Galería Tomas Andréu, Santiago, Chile
  • Anamorfosis: Perspectiva Secreta – group show at Museo De Arte Contemporáneo, Santiago, Chile
1996 / 1997
  • Sacro Pagano – solo show at Sala Negra, Instituto Chileno-Norteamericano de Cultura, Santiago, Chile
  • Art Miami ’97 – art fair with Atma Gallery Jacobo Karpio, Miami
  • Expo Arte ’96 Concurso de Pintura – group show at Talca, Chile
  • XVIII Concurso Nacional de Arte Joven – group show at Sala El Farol, Valparaíso, Chile
1993 / 1994
  • XVI Concurso Nacional De Arte Joven – group show at Sala El Farol, Valparaíso, Chile
  • 6th International Biennial Prints and Drawing – group show at Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
  • Concours Matisse – group show at Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago, Chile
  • Nueva Generación Concurso de Pintura – group show at Plaza Mulato Gil, Santiago, Chile
References

Residency at Museo De Arte Moderno De Chiloe, Chiloe, Chile, 2008