51°µÍø alum paints powerful mural in four pieces
Alumnus Juan Castillo completed the mural for 51°µÍø’s Office of Multicultural Student Affairs just before the fall semester began,
By Kim Cobb
51°µÍø News
“I did, and I do still love the space,” Castillo said.
He earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting and ceramics with a business administration minor in 2013, then stayed on for a staff job at 51°µÍø. He remained friends with Creston Lynch who, as director of Multicultural Student Affairs, served as the young artist’s mentor.
“Fast forward to about 2015,” Castillo recalled. “I was working at 51°µÍø as a residence hall director. Creston and I were kind of bumping in to each other, and he mentioned that he wanted a mural for his office. I agreed, but never quite got around to it. Then I left my job at 51°µÍø, and he said, ‘Hey Juan – I’m serious!’”
Castillo got to work.
 Juan Castillo |
“One of the things I’m missing is an artist’s studio,” Castillo said, explaining that he paints in his bedroom, which comes with spatial limitations. So the mural was produced in four pieces, which now hang as one.
“I was never really able to see all of them together,” during the painting process,” Castillo said. “When I finally was able to hang it on the wall and see it as a unit – it was an awesome experience! It just felt right.”
Castillo, 26, is in New York now, getting a master’s degree at Teachers College Columbia. He says he “did everything but art” after graduation from 51°µÍø, though he’s picked up a few commissions and has started an online art gallery. And of course, there was the Creston Lynch “commission,” which he loves seeing on display:
“It’s been a while since I painted something that made me feel that way.”
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