An American Artist
James Castle’s work was deeply informed by the repurposed materials he salvaged from his domestic environment, including ephemera such as envelopes, packaging, advertisements, and matchbooks. Castle formulated his ink by compounding soot with saliva and fabricated drawing implements to execute a complex and sophisticated aesthetic. In addition to using soot, he utilized color of unconventional pigments including extracted color from crepe paper and laundry bluing as well as traditional mediums such as crayon, marker, pencils and watercolor.
Born profoundly deaf, Castle possessed limited access to conventional communication; nonetheless, through the sustained support of his family, he secured the dedicated workspace, materials, and autonomy necessary for continuous artistic production throughout his life. Although institutional recognition did not emerge until the 1950s, Castle’s art is now exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide
THE DEFINITIVE BOOK
ON THE WORK OF JAMES CASTLE
James Castle: Memory PaIace
By John Beardsley
Published in March 2021 by Yale University Press
A fascinating new look at an extraordinary artist whose deafness led to an acute visual awareness and near photographic memory
– Yale University Press
BIOGRAPHY
