CAREN GOLDEN FINE ART
539 West 23 Street
New York, NY 10011
T. 212-727-8304
info@carengolden.com
Bradley Castellanos
DEADLAND
Breach, 2006, oil, photo collage & resin on panel, 23.25 x 23.25 inches
October 19 – November 25, 2006
Reception: Thursday, October 19, 6 – 8 PM
Caren Golden Fine Art is pleased to present Deadland, the first New York solo exhibition by Bradley Castellanos.
Bradley Castellanos' work achieves the seamless combination of
large-format photography and the tumultuous energy of abstract
painting. His intricately cut photo-collages are layered with
lushly-colored abstract oil paint and pristine resin. As Dan
Cameron states, "Castellanos has developed a complex technique of
combining transparent and opaque layers so that any overlap is nearly
impossible to pin down, making one stop to wonder why nobody has
previously set out to accomplish a similar feat of seamlessly combining
two media that are typically perceived as being at odds with each
other. Despite the paintings' occasionally toxic-seeming appearance,
this balance of bravura brushwork and photographic print seems to be
almost ecological in its careful consideration toward the separate
claims of each competing system."
Castellanos' urban landscapes threaten to contaminate and consume all
life. They are dead ends of decay, waste and desolation, yet
radiate with an unnatural beauty that transcends their grim
circumstances. Even pastoral landscapes are dark dreams,
undermined by devastation, loneliness and despair. This collision
of abstraction and realism, paint and photography occur in a toxic
environment that both seduces and repels.
A recent graduate of The School of Visual Arts Master's program,
Castellanos' work has already been exhibited at PS 1 and in group shows
at Nicole Klagsbrun and Pavel Zoubok. Last summer Dan Cameron selected
Castellanos for the HangArt-7, a prestigious exhibition in Salzburg,
Austria of seven New York emerging artists which was on view from July
8 through August 27, 2006. In addition to recent press coverage
in the September issue of Gotham, a painting from Bradley Castellanos' Deadland series will be published in an upcoming issue of Harper's.
To view selected works from Deadland, click on http://carengoldenfineart.com/currentshow.htm or cut and paste the address into your browser.
For further information regarding the Bradley Castellanos’ Deadland exhibition, please contact Blaize Lehane in the gallery at 212-727-8304 or blaize@carengolden.com.