Vincent Castiglia
Vincent Castiglia (born April 8, 1982 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American painter. He paints figurative paintings with metaphysical and often nightmarish subject matters, exclusively in human blood (iron oxide) on paper. Work. Castiglia's paintings are monochromatic tableaux examining life, death, and the human condition. Dominant work themes include the symbiosis of birth and death, the transience of human beings, and the pitfalls of mortality. The images themselves, as he sees them, form as crystallizations of Castiglia's experiences, freed from the psyche. Through his work the viewer is forced into a re-acquaintance with life  and urgency that might not otherwise take place. While many surrealists cite fantasy or dreams as their inspiration, Castiglia's Visionary art is connected to a life story which is highly allegorical. Castiglia is the first American artist to receive a solo exhibition invitation from Oscar Award-winning artist, H.R. Giger, to exhibit at the H.R. Giger Museum, in Gruyeres, Switzerland. "Remedy for the Living", the 1st solo exhibition of paintings by Vincent Castiglia opened at the H.R. Giger Museum Gallery on November 1, 2008, and closed in April 2009. Castiglia's works on paper have been exhibited internationally and  hang in many distinguished collections. In 2009, "Gravity", one of his most celebrated works of 2006, was acquired by rock musician, Gregg Allman. Recently, in 2016, Castiglia painted a custom ESP electric guitar for Gary Holt of both Slayer and Exodus. This is a fully functional piece of art that is often played onstage by Gary. The Guitar, titled, "Lucifer," was painted exclusively in 16 viles of Gary's own blood. Shortly thereafter, Slayer also commissioned Castiglia to paint them a poster for their farewell tour. As decomposition and decay are so much a part of life as birth and  growth, one can see this cycle occur in Castiglia's work. Castiglia's art confronts the innate fear of these natural phenomena and exposes their reality by the precise rendering of these conventionally intangible facts. Contradiction and struggle give the work a life of its own. His unique visual language is stripped of all but the essential elements. Contemporary art critics have compared Castiglia's work to old masters such as Michelangelo, the contemporary expressionist Francis Bacon, as well as conceptual artist Damien Hirst whose explicit portrayals of death are in similar form. Album art. In 2009, Vincent painted album  art for Triptykon's 2010 debut release, "Eparistera Daimones". The group is founded by former Hellhammer / Celtic Frost singer and guitarist Tom Gabriel Fischer. The album's art is an amalgamation of works by HR Giger (cover art), Vincent Castiglia (interior art), and Triptykon on "Eparistera Daimones", which conceptually is understood to form a creative triptych in itself. Film. 2010 Horror-Slasher Film, "Savage County", features a specially created painting by Vincent Castiglia as its movie poster. The painting depicts the three murderers in the film. 2018 Bloodlines: "The Art and Life of Vincent Castiglia" A biography about Vincent in  relation to his artwork. Medium. Castiglia's use of only blood and water on paper as well the technique by which it is applied to his canvases achieves more tonal range and textural possibilities than the rusty sepia one associates with blood stains. His skillful handling of this iron rich pigment is a significant component, as is his personal vision and disciplined rendering of his subject matter. The viewer is not only allowed to see into the figure, but also through it, into a deeper psychological world. The first colors used by humans were red, iron oxide (hematite, a form  of red ochre) and black. The word hematite, the source of many iron oxide pigments, is derived from the Greek word, "haima", meaning blood, and because of its symbolic and spiritual significance, early man coveted this color.