James Castle (1899-1977) was an American artist who found inspiration in the detritus of everyday life, primarily in the materials he collected from his family’s home, such as envelopes, packaging, advertisements, and matchbooks. Working mostly with soot, spit, and homemade tools, he created a rich, complex style that was wholly his own. Castle was born deaf and had limited means of communication. However, with the support of his family, he had dedicated space, supplies, and plenty of time to make art. Though he did not gain recognition for his art until the 1950s, Castle’s work 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
Published by Yale University Press, a comprehensive survey on the work of James Castle to release Spring 2021. In this fascinating new look at the artist from the James Castle Collection and Archive, author John Beardsley extracts seven primary themes that weave through the drawings, books, and constructions. Deftly tracing their intricacies as if through a series of rooms—the artist’s memory palace—Beardsley provides keen insight and a clear map with which to explore the life’s work of this extraordinary, enigmatic artist. Available March 2021 Pre order: www.yalebooks.yale.edu #americanartist #beautifulbooks #jamescastleartist #yalebooks @yalebooks #jamescastlearchive…
This Castle 2-sided drawing from the collection of Jasper Johns is included in Jasper Johns-Artist as collector, From Cezanne to de Kooning an exhibition at Kunstmuseum Basel.
“The show encompasses a variety of expressive drawing styles spanning Impressionism and Abstract Expressionism through to contemporary works, and, for the first time, affords a truly representative insight into this singular collection.” – Kunstmuseum Basel Untitled (Three Figures in Landscape) Verso*: Untitled (Two Figures in Landscape) Found paper, soot, spit 24.1×25.4 cm Collection of Jasper johns
Page detail from a commercially printed pamphlet altered by Castle. This 62- page booklet, each page filled with intricate drawings, is one of many items that may have passed through the household in the mid 1920"s in which Castle gleaned for his work.…
This tiny drawing holds much to look at. One side, a farmscape with Castle`s iconic giant drive through tree, the other, an intimate room with door ajar.
untitled, soot on found paper 1 3/4 x 2 3/8 inches
Tinworks Art, a contemporary exhibition space in Bozeman Montana, opens the 2024 season with The Lay of the Land. This exhibition, featuring work inspired by the American West, includes over eighty drawings and constructions by James Castle and work by five contemporary artists, Agnes Dennis, Layli Long Soldier, Lucy Raven, Stephen Shore, and Robbie Wing. #tinworksart #jamescastle #contemporaryart…
