The Art:
Claudio Castillo is a multi-dimensional multi-media artist who has combined fine art,
painting, video, photography, animation and computer programming into an art
form that takes on a life of its own. He creates kinetic and ever-evolving visions with thematic
variations where change is inevitable and happens before our very eyes.
Castillo has uniquely combined his many talents into a radically new concept–works of
art exploring time and motion that are romantic, philosophical, light and graceful. His
pieces not only evoke emotion, but also create fleeting ephemeral compositions allowing
the viewer to witness and get lost in the sometimes subtle and sometimes dramatic effects of
the passage of life and of time, with the knowledge that it will never be repeated.
By embedding software in dreamlike, poetic watercolor landscapes, unlike linear video art,
he creates “non-linear regenerative paintings.” The end result is a moving, mesmerizing,
impermanent performance.
The work is viewed on a screen or projected, but can also be printed, recorded or streamed.
He begins with digitized versions of his watercolors, splits the image into several layers, and
then animates each one in multiple ways. This creates the possibility of countless variations of
the painting as it morphs eternally into new compositions. In essence, he creates an
environmental world that is living and changing perpetually in a random non-linear way–whilst
at the same time the internal computer clock does the opposite, keeping accurate time and predicting
natural cycles such as the phases of the moon or tides.
His iconography resonates as abstract forms of water, flowers, rain, sun, vines, grass,
roots, sky, rocks and more. These are rendered schematically and change subtly toward
abstraction. The introduction of multiplicity, chance, and natural cycles into a single
image, and its pre-programmed control, opens the work up to a world of puzzling
juxtapositions of impermanence and ceaselessness. These generative pieces also
make use of Internet connectivity to reflect real-time data within the work’s imagery,
creating artwork that responds to incoming stimuli.
Generative art has been around as a concept since the cavemen when they stared at shadows
from their fires. In ancient Greece Heraclitus proclaimed, “you will not walk in the same river
twice”. Other Contemporary artists have dealt with the challenges of time and
movement differently, be it Calder’s kinetic mobile sculptures or Nam June Paik’s electronic
world of linear videos and television sculptures. Even Duchamp did “Three
Stoppages” when he let gravity alter the shape and movement of three pieces of string
falling, never repeating the same result.
When computers came along John Simon created “Every Icon” where a pixel moves in
a grid creating every possible composition driven by an algorithm. In music, John Cage
created his 639 year-long piece entitled “As slow as possible”. And, Brian Eno
combined audio and video in his generative light boxes displaying moving LEDs that
never repeat.
The evolution of technology in art is exemplified by Castillo’s successful merger of fine
art and perpetual motion. Prints or linear videos from the generative process offer a
recognizable artistic experience, however the “work” itself is never done. In this way, it
challenges the whole concept of art since there is no end to the potential variations. His
work will continue to be created well after his death.
ART WYNWOOD Feb 2024
EPIPHANY IN ART TODAY, CHAPEL LA MERCED, MIAMI Jan 2024
CONTEXT/ART MIAMI Dec 2023.
CONTEXT/ART MIAMI Dec 2022.
MHCAC Jan 2022.
CONTEXT/ART MIAMI Dec 2021.
NFT WEEK NYC , New York City 2021.
CADAF Virtual Fair June 2020.
MHCAC Virtual art group show SOS earth day April 2020.
Raw Space (solo) Vero Beach January 2020.
Context Art Fair Miami Art week Dec 2019.
From Generative art to stained glass MHCAC December 2019
Miami Beach Art deco Museum (solo) January 2019.
Ecce mater tua, Miami Hispanic Cultural Arts Center. May 2018.
LA art, California, January 2018.
Intercontinental digital take over for Miami art week (solo), December 2017.
Hispanic Cultural Art Center (solo), Miami, December 2017.
Fat village, January Fort Lauderdale, Fl 2017.
LA art California, January 2017.
Spectrum, Miami Florida, Dec 2016.
SOBU Miami Art week, FL 2016.
Florida Contemporaries, The Baker Museum, Naples, FL January 2016.
Spectrum, Miami, FL December 2015.
Art Expo New York, NY March 2014.
Spectrum, Miami, FL December 2014.
Art Palm Beach, January 2014
MIA Sea Fair, Miami, January 2014,
SCOPE Art Fair, Miami December 2013,
Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), Disrupted Nature May, 2013
Fountain Art Fair, New York, March 2013
FAT VILLAGE, Ft Lauderdale, March 2013
Brisky Gallery, Miami, February 2013
MIA Sea Fair, February 2013
Groundspace Project Los Angeles, January 2013
Parallax Fair, Miami, FL , December 2012
Art Miami, Miami, Fl , December 2011
Edgezones, Miami, Fl , December 2011
Art Miami, Miami, Fl , December 2010
Solo Show Arte Americas, Tresart, Miami Fl, March 2010
Imaginarium, Ft Lauderdale, Fl, February -March 13 2010
Art Miami, Miami, Fl , December 2009
Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, Animamix Biennial, Taiwan, November 2009
Naples Museum of Art, Fl, Latin American Painting Now, October 2009
Hot Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland, June 2009
Arte Americas, Miami, FL, March 2009
Art Expo, New York City, NY, February 2009
Nicole Henry Gallery Group Show, Palm Beach, FL, November 2009
Art Miami, Miami, Fl, December 2009
Nicole Henry Gallery, Palm Beach, FL, November 2009
Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA, Beyond Photoshop, Sept 2008
PINTA, Contemporary Art Fair, New York City , NY, November 2008
Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA, Awards 08 Show, Sept 2008
CCE/Museum of Modern Art, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, June 2008
Tresart Cuban Contemporaries, Miami , FL, May 2008
Arte Americas, Miami, FL, March 2008
Edgezones Group Show, Miami, FL, December 2007
Art Futures Group Show, Miami, FL, December 2007
Art Miami, Miami, FL, December 2007
PINTA Contemporary Art Fair, New York City, NY, November 2007
Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai, Animamix Biennial, China, October 2007
Art Expo, Las Vegas, NV, September 2007
Group Show, Art Futures Gallery, Miami, FL, July 2007
“Light on San Servolo” Art Fair, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy, June 2007
CIGE Art Fair, Beijing, China, May 2007
CIRCA Art Fair, Puerto Rico, April 2007
DiVA Video Art Fair, New York City, NY, February 2007
Group Show, “Zones Fair”, Edgezones , Miami, FL, December 2006
Group Show, “Moving Image”, Alonso Gallery, Miami, FL, November 2006
Group Show, Edgezones, Miami, FL, December 2005
Group Show, “Son,” Design Center of the Americas, Hollywood, FL, 1993
Solo Show, Brickell Square, Miami, FL, 1992
Group Show, “Comet Halley”, A.I.R. Gallery, New York, NY, 1985
Group Show, Galeria Sigfrido, Madrid, Spain, 1982
Solo Show, Bacardi Gallery, Miami, FL, 1979
Solo Show, El Sombrero Gallery, Torremolinos, Spain, 1977
AWARDS
Winner of the 2008 Museum of Latin American Art’s award in the category of video and photography.
el Nuevo Herald art week 2023
studio visit with sophie de la plaine
Inaugural issue of The Currency Spring 2022
'El arte salva', una exposición virtual por el Día de la Tierra
Miami Beach rastreando museos
Miami Today
Diario de Cuba Claudio Castillo expone su 'arte generativo' en Miami Arte retando al tiempo
Museum opens Special Exhibition
Claudio Castillo, Generative Art
Claudio Castillo, el arte de provocar al tiempo
El artista cubanoamericano, radicado en Miami, usa la tecnología
digital para generar una infinidad de posibilidades visuales que parten de una obra plástica.
El arte efímero y a la vez eterno de Claudio Castillo gracias a la informática
LA REVISTA DE LA NOCHE
Entrevista 13 minutos con el artista. Febrero 2018
Entrevista 33 minutos con el artista. Enero 11, 2018
La Virgen de la Caridad en ferias de arte y museos. Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Claudio Castillo: Arte inteligente
en movimiento
19 de diciembre de 2017
Claudio Castillo (La Habana, Cuba, 1958) es el autor de una de las obras de mayores dimensiones que se expuso en la semana del arte de Miami.
Castillo en el centro de Arte Cultural Hispànico de Miami.Arte en Movimiento por Claudio Castillo presenta una amplia gama de obras del artista, desde acuarelas hasta videos, piezas interactivas
y “arte generativo” creado al menos parcialmente por un sistema no humano o algoritmo.
Obra de un artista cubano ocupa la icónica fachada de un hotel de
Florida durante la Semana de Arte en Miami.
CLAUDIO CASTILLO: GENERATIVE ARTIST
LEYLA SHARABI DEC 2017
Cubanoamericano con la obra de mayores dimensiones en Art Basel Miami
Obra de cubano releva a famosas bailarinas en la fachada de hotel en Miami
Con motivo de la Semana del Arte en Miami, que tiene como epicentro Art Basel, que se celebra del 7 al 12 de diciembre,
Castillo despliega “El nadador” a lo largo de un “lienzo digital” de 19 pisos del hotel InterContinental.
Se trata de una composición creada especialmente para la enorme fachada y
que hace parte de una veintena de piezas “generativas” de este artista nacido en La Habana
¿Qué hacer en Miami? Arte y entretenimiento
De la pintura a lo digital: Claudio Castillo exhibe su arte generativo en Miami
El Hotel InterContinental Miami acoge la obra del artista cubanoamericano Claudio Castillo, la cual podrá verse del 8 al 10 de septiembre
Una obra del artista cubanoestadounidense Claudio Castillo
ocupa a partir de hoy la icónica fachada de un hotel de Miami y
sacará temporalmente a las siluetas de bailarines haciendo
coreografías que normalmente se proyectan allí durante la noche.
5 ARTISTS WHOSE WORK YOU HAVE TO SEE DURING MIAMI ART WEEK
MIAMI.-El arte del cubanoamericano Claudio Castillo llega al Miami Hispanic Arts Center. Del 16
de noviembre al 16 de diciembre se podrá apreciar la colección Arte en movimiento, que reúne por
primera vez piezas de todas las facetas de la producción artística de Castillo:
acuarelas y obras digitales (generativas, interactivas y vídeo).
Cuando vemos su obra podríamos quedarnos con lo superficial:
la belleza de las imágenes y la evidencia de la relación entre arte y tecnología.
Pero su obra es sometida a un complicado proceso en el que vale la pena detenerse.
Miami Hispanic Cultural Arts Centre 
ARTES PLÁSTICAS
Claudio Castillo cierra el año con dos exposiciones monumentales en solitario
El artista cubanoamericano, Claudio Castillo, exhibe a partir del jueves su obra de la colección Arte en Movimiento en el Miami Hispanic Center.
Virgen de la Caridad que desaparece podrá ser visitada en la Ermita
Art aficionados from around the globe descended onto Miami last week for the city’s annual Design Week, hosting art fairs and exhibits featuring both established and upcoming talents. One such fair is SCOPE
Artistas cubanos, chilenos y dominicanos presentan sus obras en la Exposición Internacional de Galerías de Pekín.
MIAMI, ART CAPITAL OF LATIN AMERICA
Bio
Claudio Castillo has exhibited his generative work in international art fairs and museums in the US, China and Europe. He started technology and video companies in London, Madrid and New York. He lives and works in Miami Florida as an artist.
Education
Middlesex Polytechnic, London, UK 1981
London International Film School, London, UK 1978-80
Université D’Aix Marseille, France 1977
Battisborough School, Holbeton , Devon England 75-76
Selected Solo and Group Shows
Raw Space (solo) Vero Beach January 2020
Miami Beach Art Deco Museum (solo) January 2019
Intercontinental Digital Take Over for Miami Art Week (solo), December 2017
Hispanic Cultural Art Center (solo), Miami, December 2017
Florida Contemporaries, The Baker Museum, Naples, FL January 2016
Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), Disrupted Nature May, 2013
Solo Show Arte Americas, Tresart, Miami Beach Convention center, March 2010
Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, Animamix Biennial, Taiwan, November 2009
Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA, Awards 08 Show, Sept 2008
Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai, Animamix Biennial, China, October 2007
“Light on San Servolo” Art Fair, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy, June 2007
Group Show, “Moving Image”, Alonso Gallery, Miami, FL, November 2006
Software
Antics, Avid, Photoshop, Flash, Premiere, After Effects, Final Cut
Languages
English, Spanish, French (mid level)
Awards
Winner of the 2008 Museum of Latin American Art’s award in the category of video and photography
Each layer has 32 movies of 90 frames each, so the number of total combinations is:
4 layers:
32x90x32x90x32x90x32x90 = 68,797,071,360,000
6 layers:
32x90x32x90x32x90x32x90x32x90x
The life of the universe is approximately 15 billion years. The 6 layer time is 8.8 trillion years…
A complete piece of art comprises all necessary hardware and software. The actual artwork is contained in the external USB drive attached to the computer. The owner receives a certificate of sale and a certificate of authenticity. A backup copy of the artwork is kept in a repository on the web in case of catastrophic damage. The generative series started as Adobe Flash AS2 and Adobe Flash AS3 as AIR applications. All of the artwork was re-written in C++ in 2020, collectors can receive a new copy of their artwork at no charge, the C++ version is the recommended version to use until further notice, this is due to Adobe stopping the support of their own Flash SWF and FLV formats, please note the Flash Adobe version will continue working, there will always be Adobe Flash legacy support through emulators.
WHERE IS THE ORIGINAL SOFTWARE?
The owner receives a loaded complete system that includes all hardware and software, the software is installed inside the computer and is also inside an external USB drive, connected to the computer.
HOW MANY COPIES ARE THERE?
The owner has one copy out of an edition of eight. The Artist has two artists proofs.
