California Archives

Soul of a Nation (Traveling Exhibition)

De Young Museum | San Francisco, California

Dates: September 29, 2019 – February 2, 2020

Organized by: Denver Art Museum

Featured Artwork: 29 paintings from the last five years

Subjects: Many of the paintings depicted Harlem community members

Significance: Casteel's first solo museum show

Themes: Intimate portrayals of often overlooked community members

Ai Weiwei: At Large

Alcatraz National Park | San Francisco Bay | Former Detention Center

Dates: September 29, 2019 – February 2, 2020

Organized by: Denver Art Museum

Featured Artwork: 29 paintings from the last five years

Subjects: Many of the paintings depicted Harlem community members

Significance: Casteel's first solo museum show

Themes: Intimate portrayals of often overlooked community members

Black Refractions

MoAD | Downtown San Francisco, CA

Dates: September 29, 2019 – February 2, 2020

Organized by: Denver Art Museum

Featured Artwork: 29 paintings from the last five years

Subjects: Many of the paintings depicted Harlem community members

Significance: Casteel's first solo museum show

Themes: Intimate portrayals of often overlooked community members

Jordan Casteel | Returning the Gaze

Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University

Dates: September 29, 2019 – February 2, 2020

Organized by: Denver Art Museum

Featured Artwork: 29 paintings from the last five years

Subjects: Many of the paintings depicted Harlem community members

Significance: Casteel's first solo museum show

Themes: Intimate portrayals of often overlooked community members

[Brotherhood] Initially, Caseetl's subjects were family and friends. Paintings of her mother, her mother's barber, and his son, among others, are included here. As to why she chose to focus on Black men, she says, "I felt that the world didn't see an — [Brotherhood] Initially, Caseetl's subjects were family and friends. Paintings of her mother, her mother's barber, and his son, among others, are included here. As to why she chose to focus on Black men, she says, "I felt that the world didn't see and know them as I see and know them: as my brothers, as my father, as friends, as lovers. I felt I had access to a kind of intimacy that I could give other people access to through painting."

Miles
2015
Oil Paint on canvas — Miles 2015 Oil Paint on canvas

Ato
2016
Oil paint on canvas — Ato 2016 Oil paint on canvas

Client
2015
Oil paint on canvas
"This small painting was based on a photograph taken in a barbershop. Casteel notices details that boost our understanding of the sitter, like the hands calmy resting in the client's lap." — Client 2015 Oil paint on canvas "This small painting was based on a photograph taken in a barbershop. Casteel notices details that boost our understanding of the sitter, like the hands calmy resting in the client's lap."

Amina
2017
Oil paint on canvas — Amina 2017 Oil paint on canvas

[Harlem] Like many artists before her, Casteel was drawn to Harlem's vibrant street life and arts scene. From the Great Migration north and the arts renaissance in the 1920s through social unrest, financial hardship, and gentrification, Harlem has be — [Harlem] Like many artists before her, Casteel was drawn to Harlem's vibrant street life and arts scene. From the Great Migration north and the arts renaissance in the 1920s through social unrest, financial hardship, and gentrification, Harlem has been a major Black residential, cultural, and business hub for more than a century. The canvases in this section show people that Casteel met in her neighborhood. Her process is to start a conversation, ask if she can take photographs, and explain that she wants to use the photos to paint a portrait in her studio. She studies the photos before beginning to paint, deciding what elements best convey the nature of her sitter.

Joe and Mozel
(Pompette Wines)
2017
Oil paint on canvas — Joe and Mozel (Pompette Wines) 2017 Oil paint on canvas

Q
2017
Oil paint on canvas — Q 2017 Oil paint on canvas

Q [detail photo]
2017
Oil paint on canvas — Q [detail photo] 2017 Oil paint on canvas

Sylvia's (Taniedra, Kendra, Bedelia, Crizette, De'Sean)
2018
Oil paint on canvas — Sylvia's (Taniedra, Kendra, Bedelia, Crizette, De'Sean) 2018 Oil paint on canvas

Sylvia's (Taniedra, Kendra, Bedelia, Crizette, De'Sean) [Detail shot]
2018
Oil paint on canvas — Sylvia's (Taniedra, Kendra, Bedelia, Crizette, De'Sean) [Detail shot] 2018 Oil paint on canvas

Timothy
2017
Oil paint on canvas

[Words on clothing help communicate aspects of the sitter's personality. " think that's a very powerful statement to wear it on your chest like a shield." Casteel says] — Timothy 2017 Oil paint on canvas [Words on clothing help communicate aspects of the sitter's personality. " think that's a very powerful statement to wear it on your chest like a shield." Casteel says]

[Subway Paintings]
The Subway series runs parallel to Casteel's portrait practice. In these works, she doesn't speak with the sitters she photographs; she simply (and surreptitiously) snaps a picture. The same attention to the telling detail that in — [Subway Paintings] The Subway series runs parallel to Casteel's portrait practice. In these works, she doesn't speak with the sitters she photographs; she simply (and surreptitiously) snaps a picture. The same attention to the telling detail that informs all Casteel's work is here distilled to its essence: the position of the hands, what the sitter holds, or how bodies rest in moments of pause during a daily commute. The importance of the gaze, the act of seeing and being seen, remains primary.

Lean
2018
Oil paint on canvas — Lean 2018 Oil paint on canvas

Lean [Detail shot]
2018
Oil paint on canvas — Lean [Detail shot] 2018 Oil paint on canvas

Just Sayin'
2018
Oil paint on canvas — Just Sayin' 2018 Oil paint on canvas

Flight
2018
Oil paint on canvas — Flight 2018 Oil paint on canvas

Subway Hands 2
(2017)
Oil paint on canvas — Subway Hands 2 (2017) Oil paint on canvas

Charles
2016
Oil paint on canvas — Charles 2016 Oil paint on canvas

Charles [Detail photo]
2016
Oil paint on canvas — Charles [Detail photo] 2016 Oil paint on canvas

Mom
2013
Oil paint on canvas — Mom 2013 Oil paint on canvas

Mom [Detail photo]
2013
Oil paint on canvas — Mom [Detail photo] 2013 Oil paint on canvas