New Exhibit: Selections from the Federico Castellon Memorial Print Collection

About the Collection

The Federico Castellon Memorial Print Collection consists of 78 prints by printmakers in the 1960s and 1970s, donated to Teachers College by established printmakers throughout the United States under the aegis of the Society of American Graphic Artists. Established in 1915, SAGA is one of the oldest organizations of printmakers. The artworks are dedicated to Federico Castellon who brought extraordinary vision to art and teaching, and they are part of the Historical Art Collections held at the Gottesman Libraries.

About Federico Castellon

Fredrico Castellon (1914-1971) was a painter, sculptor, illustrator, teacher, and printmaker from Almeria, Spain, who came to Brooklyn, NY with his family in 1921. With no formal training, he entered the art world with a solo exhibition at the Weyhe Gallery at the age of eighteen. Later, Castellon became a distinguished member of the Society of American Graphic Artists (SAGA) and was recognized as an established artist; he received the Guggenheim Fellowship and his work was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of Modern Art, and Art Institute of Chicago. Castellon initially served as a summer instructor at Teachers College in 1949-50. He became an Instructor of Fine Arts at Teachers College in the 1950s where he taught a variety of painting classes, including watercolor and oil, for more than a dozen years. Though he considered himself a "temporary teacher" and sought to balance his time as a both a teacher and artist, he spoke fondly of his time at Teachers College; in an interview for the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art, he recalled, "And everybody that teaches knows that the biggest thrill is to suddenly see somebody awaken under your spell."

Castellon is one of the first artists in America to be associated with the Surrealist movement. Though he was called a Surrealist, he never considered himself as one. Influenced by artists such as Dali, Picasso, Rouault, Castellon developed his unique style that blended reality, memory, and fantasy. He merges enigmatic body parts with indecipherable elements. Castellon does not only depict the unconscious mind, but uses poetic mysticism to shine light upon the lived human experience. 

On Fantasy, Mystery and the Human Condition

This exhibition is a selection of prints by both Federico Castellon and various other artists in the 1970s from the Federico Castellon Memorial Print Collection. It explores the underlying themes of fantasy and mystery in Castellon’s work. The artists use abstraction to alter the figures and landscapes to create their own dreams and nightmares. The figures are twisted, fleeting, and disjointed, seemingly almost non-human. The landscapes look familiar yet distant, pointing towards celestial and extraterrestrial fantasies. Mythical figures, such as Venus and Pele, breathe new life into the dreamscape. The blend of ordinary and the extraordinary in this exhibition is a reflection of surreal elements that influenced Federico Castellon. In the prints, the artists explore the complexities of the human condition through images that are beautiful, disturbing, and ultimately educational; they tap into our subconscious minds, question rational thought, and prompt poetic ways of thinking about human experience, personal and societal dilemmas, and our place in the changing world.     

Where: Offit Gallery

When: Friday, February 2nd - Friday, March 15th, 2024

Poster Image:   Castellon, Federico. Madame Creator and Her Handiwork. N.p., 1970. From the Federico Castellon Memorial Print Collection, Courtesy of Teachers College, Columbia University.