Enrique Castrejon

Artist’s Statement

In the most recent series of works I investigate health and disease to bring awareness to COVID-19, rectal cancer, dementia, heart disease and mental health that affected my Mexican immigrant family in the last few years. Feeling helplessness in seeing a loved one health’s decline and their death, I created fragmented and measured drawings and installations to deal with grief, depression, anxiety, helplessness, and to understand our bodies and disease.

I linearly dissect and deconstruct appropriated images of bodies into fragmented shapes while maintaining the image’s content. Each length along these fragmented geometric shapes are measured with a ruler in (x inches) and each angle calculated with a protractor and calculator in angle degrees (360°- x°=y°).  Measured units explode outward creating a chaotic web of ordered data allowing the viewer to come close, explore the bodies, and find the point of origin of these units within them.  This process allows me to question what I see, map the body, and code it in units, revealing some quantitative truth of these bodies, as lines are interwoven, holding the bodies in place, in suspended time. In addition, the sculptural bodies in installations are also covered and interwoven with strips of researched data and information from public health sources concerning Covid-19, dementia, heart disease, and rectal cancer to inform viewers of these health concerns that affect our community.

Overall, my work has grown to merge public health issues affecting marginal communities, incorporating personal history, addressing community health and researching local public health disparities.

Website: www.enriquecastrejon.com

Born: 1972; Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico.  Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.

Education:
M.F.A., 2006, Studio Art, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
B.F.A., 2003, Studio Art, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
B.A., 1998, Chicano/a Studies, California State University, Northridge, CA

Exhibition Record: (*solo shows marked by asterisk)
2022 Future is Queer, Bermundez Projects, Cypress Park, CA
Adornment / Artifact, Transformative Arts, Los Angeles, CA
Memories of Tomorrow’s Sunrise, Rondald H. Silverman Fine Art Gallery, Cal State Los Angeles, CA
2021 Mind Heart Rectum, Bermudez Projects, Cypress Park, CA*
Six Linear Feet, ONE Archive Library, USC, Los Angeles, CA
Invisibility(ies) Session Two, Acogedor, Los Angeles, CA
2020 Dia de los Muertos, Self Help Graphics, Los Angeles, CA
Spaceland, Bermudez Projects, Los Angeles, CA
2019 COLA – City of Los Angeles Artist Fellowship, Los Angles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Coalesce, UCF Art Gallery, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Fl
My Youth, TAG Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Self Help Graphics and Art (a selection of prints), Treehaven Gallery, Schneider Museum of Art, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR
2018 Body Politics, Downtown Glendale Central Library, Glendale, CA
Jonesy’s Pack. Klowden Mann, Culver City, CA
Building Bridges/ Construyendo Puentes: Arte Chicano/Mexicano de L.A. a CD.MX. Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, Mexico City, Mexico
Art Is A Lie, Baptist University Art Gallery, Riverside, CA
Radiant, Blueroof Studios, Los Angeles, CA
2017 Here. There. Everywhere.  Advocate Gallery, Los Angeles CA
Uno en Ortro, Orto en Orto, Ortro en Uno, Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA
Cuts Ups, Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay & Lesbian Art, New York, NYC
Stepping into the Radiant Future, LAST Projects, Los Angeles, CA
2016 Tight Squeeze, Armory Center of the Arts, Pasadena CA
Cock, Paper, Scissors, USC ONE Institute Archive, Los Angeles, CA
Queer Biennial II, Los Angeles, CA
WE ARE LOS ANGELES, California Community Foundation, Grand Park Plaza, Los Angeles, CA
2015 OUT of RUBBLE, Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
Fiberlicious, Los Angeles Municipal Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Paperworks, California Arts & Crafts Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Odyssey, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA
Latino(a) 4×4 Performances, Highways Performance Space, Santa Monica, CA
2014 Bitches Rule: Cycle#3, & Pens, Culver City, CA
FACE, Document, Los Angeles, CA
OUT OF RUBBLE, The Jack Olson Gallery, Northern Illinois University, Debalb, Il; Schmucker Art Gallery, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, PA.
2013 Cannibalism In The New World, MexiCali Biennale, Vincent Price Museum, Los Angeles, CA.
OUT of RUBBLE, String Room Gallery, Wells College, Aurora, NY, and Harris Art Gallery, University of La Verne, La Verne, CA
Question the Line, The Collaborative, Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA
Axiom of Solitude, Bermudez Projects, Los Angeles, CA*
Sur, Cerritos College, Los Angeles, CA
Artist Print Projects, Self Help Graphics, Los Angeles, CA
2012 OUT of RUBBLE, SPACE Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA; Bowling Green State University Galleries, OH; The Marlin and Regina Miller Gallery, Kutztown University, PA
Great Refusal, Sullivan Galleries, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
SPACELAND, Bermudez Projects, Los Angeles, CA
WAIFS & STRAYS, Bermudez Projects, Los Angeles, CA*
MOCA Fresh, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
FRESH stART, Los Angeles, CA
2011 Gallery TEN Years & Counting, http://10yearsandcounting.com/
Word the Word, ARTLA, Santa Monica, CA
Pacific Standard Time / Chicano AIR TALK, KPCC Pasadena, CA
Goldilocks, Commonwealth & Council, Los Angeles, CA
Incognito, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA
SOS, D-Block / Phantom Galleries, Long Beach, CA
LACE Limited Edition Portfolio, Art Platform, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Commonwealth, POST, Los Angeles, CA
Measured & Fragmented, Design Within Reach, Los Angeles, CA*
Launch, Los Angeles, CA
Room Mobile, See Line Gallery, West Hollywood, CA
BookMeat, Side Street Projects, Pasadena, CA
Monster Drawing Rally, Outpost Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Concrete Drawing: Extending the Line, Fine Art Gallery, Cal State University, Los Angeles, CA
MOCA Fresh 09, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
I’ll Be Your Mirror, Bank Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008 Infrastructure, Wignall Museum, Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Pulse Miami Art Fair, Bank Gallery, Miami, Fl
Preview Berlin Art Fair, Berlin, Germany
Slab Projects, Los Angeles, CA
Intersections, Outpost Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Monster Drawing Rally, Outpost Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Carnage, Project Room, Bank Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Your Documents Please! Zaim, Yokohama, Japan
Good Doll Bad Doll, Armory Center, Pasadena, CA
System Theory, Torrance Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2007 Latitudes, LA Art Core, Los Angeles, CA
Link, collaboration with Cindy Santos Bravo, Ed Gomez’s Traveling Gallery of Contemporary Art, Phoenix, AZ.
Draw a Line, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), Los Angeles, CA
2006 Collisions & Pile-Ups, Cal Arts MFA Graduate Exhibition, Armory, Pasadena, CA
Genderocity, 4F Gallery, Chinatown Galleries, Los Angeles, CA

Awards:
2019 COLA – City of Los Angeles Artist Fellowship
2011 Big Draw LA Foundation
2006 Cal Arts Fine Art Scholarship / Dean Art Reserve Grant
2005 Lulu May & Richard Von Hagen Award
2003 World Studio Foundation Award / Kraus Family Foundation Award
2001 Knapp Foundation Fine Art Award
1996 Rudy Acuna Scholarship Award

Memberships:
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, San Antonio, TX

Residencies: Master Printing Residency, Self Help Graphics, Los Angeles CA 04/2013

Conferences/ panels/ presentations:
Artist Presentation, All About Art: Enrique Castrejon, Los Angeles based artist Enrique Castrejon discusses recent projects, including UNO en Otro, Otro en Otro, Otro en UNO: A Fantastic Tale, which is currently on view at MOLAA. Introduction by Edward Hayes, Jr., MOLAA Curator of Exhibitions.
Panelist, Chicano AIR TALK & Pacific Standard Time, AIR TALK with Larry Mantle 2011, KPCC, Pasadena, CA
Artist Presentation, Measured and Fragmented by Enrique Castrejon, 2010
Facilitator, Measured & Fragmented Big Draw, Design Within Reach 2010, Los Angeles, CA
Teaching Artist: Los Angeles County High School of the Arts Outreach Visual Arts Summer Workshop, Fairgrove Academy, La Puente, CA
Presenter and Visiting Artist: Infrastructure, 2008 Wignall Museum, Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Presenter: Latitudes, 2008, LA Art Core (The Brewery), Los Angeles, CA
Researcher: STAR (Sexual Training and Research), 2000, HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY
Presenter: Latino and Gay – Y Que! Models of Pride, Los Angeles Gay, Lesbian, Transgender Youth Conference, 1998, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA
Panel: Health Issues of Homeless Youth, National Gay & Lesbian Health Conference, 1994, New York, NY
Panel: The Establishment of Queer Latinos Unidos at Cal State Northridge, National Association of Chicano Studies (NACS) Conference, 1993, Chicago, IL
Facilitator, Homophobia and Heterosexism Workshop, Moviemento Estudientil Chicano de Atzlan (MEChA) National Conference, 1994, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
Facilitator, Homophobia and Heterosexism Workshop, MEChA State Conference, 1994, Fresno State University, Fresno, CA
Panel: Racism in Queer Communities, International Gay & Lesbian Youth Organization (IGLYO) Conference, 1991, Paris, France
Panel: Racism in Queer Communities, European Gathering of Gay & Lesbian Youth Conference, 1991, Hamburg, Germany

reviews / articles:
Acuna, Rodolfo. The Making of Chicana/o Studies: In the Trenches of Academe. Rutgers University Press, 2011.
Baron, Jennifer. Pop Filter Hot Pick: Out Of Rubble premieres at Downtown’s SPACE, Pop City, November 30, 2011.
Bauknecht, Sara. Miller troupe to celebrate resilience of human spirit: Dance preview, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, December 7, 2011.
Byrnes, Susan. Northridge Group Holds ‘Kiss-In’ to Fight Homophobia. Los Angeles Times, October 13, 1993.
Campbell, Andy. Dairy: Pack Mentality. ARTFOURM.com, October 24, 2018.
Carver, Jake. COLA Individual Artist Fellowships: LA Autobiographies. Flaunt Magazine, May 21, 2019.
Castrejon, Enrique. Have You Been Tested For HIV? El Popo Newspaper. Fall 1996, Chicana & Chicano Studies Department / MEChA / Califronia State University, Northridge, No. 1, pp.3-4.
Davis, Genie. LA’s COLA 2019 Fellowship Recipients. Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art. July 2019.
De la Rocha, Castulo, Building Bridges In Time of Walls: Chicano/Mexican American Art from Los Angeles to Mexico, Alta Med, 2021.
Dybul, Mark and et tal. Evaluation of Lymph Node Virus Burden in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patients Efravirenz-Baed Protease Inhibitor-Sparing Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Vol. 181, pg. 1273-9, 2000.
Farber, Tim. One Exhibit is Cyborg Friendly and the Other is A Real Snore. Daily Breeze, 2008.
Fox, Howard, Paperworks Exhibition Catalog, CAFAM, 2015.
Frants, David Evans, Lucas Hilderbrand, and Kayleigh Perkov. Cock, Paper, Scissors. ONE Archives at the USC Libraries with the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, 2016.
Jen, Jason and Vojislav Radovanovic, Memories of Tomorrow’s Sunrise. Reprographics, Cal Sate LA. July 2022.
Johnson, Clifford V. ‘Monsters, Etc. ‘ Asymptotia, Oct. 13, 2008
Killian, Jennifer. Infrastructure Blends Politics, Feminism & Culture. The Breeze. Nov. 3, 2008, Vol. 19, Issue 5.
Kinghorn, George. New American Paintings 81, April/May 2008. pg. 3.
Knight, Christopher. Review: In ‘COLA 2019,’ the city of Los Angeles gives artist a place to sound off. Los Angeles Times, Jun. 18, 2019.
Mansfield, Katherine and Duquesne Duke, In the Middle of it All, January 12, 2012
McGinness, Christopher L. Out of Rubble: An art exhibit asks what about what comes after war? Pittsburgh City Paper January 11, 2012.
Newhouse, Kristina. Artist Project: Linear Dissection Series. X-TRA Contemporary Art Quarterly, Winter 2008, Vol. 11, No 2, pp. 55-59.
Reno, Noelle. Healing the Mind. Corsair, Santa Monica College Weekly, Nov. 7, 2001.
Reyatt, Tajinder. Governor’s Wife Gets Cold Greeting in Visit to CSUN. Daily Sundial. Sept. 20, 1995, Vol. 42, Issue 15.
Shaw, Kurt.  Images tell stories of ‘consequences of war,’ Pittsburgh Tribune Review, January 15, 2012.
Stollenwerk, Roman. Curator’s Notes: Enrique Castrejon. Infrastructure: Exhibition Catalog, Wignall Museum, 2008
Slavick, Susannne. Silent Screens and New Eyes: The Landscape of War. Formations of Identity: Society, Politics and Landscape. Floyd Martin and Eileen Yanoviak, eds. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016.
Slavick, Susanne. Out of Rubble, Charta Books, 2011.
Slenske, Michael. ART + Auctions: Paper Takes Center Stage at Los Angeles’c Craft and Folk Art Museum. Architectural Digest. September 23, 2015.
Thomas, Mary. Art weighs U.S. role in 2 wars, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, January 25, 2012.
Thomas, Mary. Artful Bounty: Revealing and relevant exhibitions, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, December 28, 2011.