From Craftsman — to Artist
Prologue
Weaving together the name Carlos Arturo Castillo, his craft as a visual artist, and the mysticism of his native Eje Cafetero, a profound spiritual map emerges. His name is no coincidence: it describes, precisely, his life's mission in Quindío.
1. Carlos: "the free man" who frees the spirit of the land. The meaning: Carlos stands for freedom, independence, and strength of character. His craft and his land: In art, freedom is essential to create without constraint. Applied to the Eje Cafetero, "Carlos" becomes the maker who refuses to be shaped by foreign commercial trends. He is the free man who chooses to paint and sculpt the sovereignty of his own culture: the ordinary man, the coffee plantation, the colonial architecture, the campesino. His freedom lies in rescuing the authenticity of his people from oblivion.
2. Arturo: "guardian of the Bear" and keeper of Quimbaya secrets. The meaning: of Celtic root, it evokes the bear, nobility, and above all the protective guardian. His craft and his land: To be born in Quindío — ancient sacred Quimbaya territory — grants him the spiritual role of guardian of ancestral memory. As sculptor and painter, Carlos Arturo becomes the custodian of the myths, the light, and the shadows of the Andean cordillera. His brush and his hands act as a shield protecting the identity of the coffee lands, so that future generations do not lose their spiritual root.
3. Castillo: "the fortress of matter" (Ecological Alchemy). The meaning: it evokes shelter, solidity, indestructibility, and mastery over matter. His craft and his land: A castle is built stone by stone from the elements of the earth, made to withstand time. This is where the name connects directly with his work as sculptor and inventor of the ecological resins PDR and Car-Em. Rather than using chemicals harmful to Quindío's natural surroundings, the maestro builds an artistic "fortress" from recycled, sustainable materials. It is matter transformed — transmuted — giving shelter to art without wounding Pachamama, Mother Earth.
"The alchemist who guards the memory of coffee"
Brought together, the full name of this Quindían artist translates spiritually as: "the free protector who transforms the matter of the earth to build an eternal fortress that shelters the soul of his people."
His Spiritual Pillars. The spiritual meaning of Carlos Castillo's work is deeply bound to the ancestral roots of his homeland — "La Calabria," ancient Quimbaya territory — and to the mystical energy that surrounds the Coffee Cultural Landscape. His art acts as a channel for transmutation and for reconnection with the sacred, resting on three spiritual pillars.
1. Connection with the land and sacred territory. To be born in a place so charged with pre-Hispanic history awakens a particular sensitivity. For Castillo, the landscape of the Eje Cafetero is not mere geography or visual resource: it is a living organism with memory. To paint its people, its landscapes, its still lifes, and its Andean towns is a way of honoring the spirit of the territory and keeping the region's inventory of dreams alive before a hyperactive, hyperconnected world. It is an act of preserving spiritual identity.
2. Alchemy and ecological transmutation (the PDR and Car-Em techniques). An artist's spirituality reveals itself in his hands. By creating and inventing his own techniques and ecological resins from recycled materials, Castillo practices a true modern alchemy. Instead of reaching for polluting elements, he takes what the world discards — or what nature offers — and transmutes it into enduring sculptures and textures. This reflects a deep spiritual respect for the conservation of life, of the environment, and of memory.
3. Criollista painting as a poem to life. Against urban chaos and the rush of daily life, the maestro's work evokes "towns without haste" and simple figures full of peace. Local critics — among them the cultural press of La Crónica del Quindío — have described his work as a "poem to life," inhabited by bucolic scenes, timeless horses, and elements where shadow and mysticism live in harmony. It is an art that seeks to raise the vibration of the viewer, transmitting serenity and calm.
Carlos Castillo's spirituality lies in being a guardian of Andean memory, transforming physical matter into a manifestation of respect for nature and for the campesino life of his region.
Prologue:
Valeria León
Journalist, Universidad Jaume I ― Castellón, España.
Biography
Carlos Arturo Castillo Parra is a Latin American plastic artist, born on November 17, 1960 in Quimbaya, Colombia. While his professional career begins in the late eighties, his calling dates back to the earliest years of childhood, when — between scribbles in the dirt and drawings auctioned off in classrooms — Castillo discovers his passion for aesthetics and meaning.
At the age of 26, the young Colombian artist decides to devote himself entirely to his work. Across dozens upon dozens of canvases, his language often takes the form of a vibrant, unmistakable criollismo that, in 1988, leads him to the principal exhibition halls of the Quindío department. The celebration of coffee-country scenes, faces and landscapes becomes synonymous with his signature, even during his time in Europe and his exploration of the roots of Spanish-American art.
In 2001 he settles on Spain's Mediterranean coast, continuing the string of exhibitions throughout the provinces of Castellón and Seville with which he makes his international debut. He also works tirelessly on an ambitious sculptural project begun in 1995: in the midst of what he describes as an endless loop of trial and error, Castillo experiments with all manner of materials in pursuit of a technique of his own invention. He dreams of an ecological, highly resistant material — driven by his concern for the climate crisis and the sustainability problem posed by traditional metal casting.
His efforts are rewarded in 2007. Without ever pausing his exhibitions or his painting, the artist arrives at an amalgam in which he recognizes the first glimpse of the qualities he had been seeking: plasticidad, dureza, resistencia — plasticity, hardness and resistance — whose initials (PDR) give the technique its name.
Inspired by the monoliths of San Agustín and by Mexican, Peruvian and Ecuadorian sculpture, Castillo turns his hand to creating the first pieces of a long series — singular in its field — that ultimately consolidates him and sets him apart within the landscape of Latin American artistic innovation. Each of his vessels, masks and figures is made entirely of organic materials. At room temperature and under natural light, the pieces acquire a firmness capable of resisting the weight of time, without surrendering the plasticity or the environmental harmony with which the Latin American artist seeks to reclaim pre-Columbian sculpture. Through these works — often marked by earth tones, greens and deep marine blues — Castillo gives form to the history of native peoples, guaqueros and mythical creatures, for which he is honored at the Salón de Artistas Quindianos in 2018.
In early 2011, he returns to his native Colombia and continues exhibiting and experimenting, refining ever lighter sculptural techniques. It is through this refinement that he arrives at his most recent iteration, named CAR-EM, and devotes himself to creating large-format sculptures. His trajectory, his concerns and his achievements are recognized: he is featured as a guest at the II and V International Art Biennial of Armenia, in 2018 and 2024 respectively, and at the close of 2025 he receives the A la Vida y Obra del Artista medal from Portal del Quindío.
Today, the Latin American artist continues to create and to push the limits of what is possible from his studio in Colombia. His work, meanwhile, can be found across the world, in private collections in Italy, Spain, France, Brazil, the United States, Belgium, Canada, England, Venezuela, Portugal and Switzerland.
Exhibitions
2019 — Los Hijos del Sol. Galería El Gato Bohemio, Armenia, Colombia.
2024
V Bienal Internacional de Arte de Armenia (Biarco). Armenia, Colombia.
2019
Los Hijos del Sol. Galería El Gato Bohemio, Armenia, Colombia.
2018
Invitado a la II Bienal Internacional de Arte(Biarco). Armenia, Colombia.
2009
Exposición ’Essential’ en el Centro Colombo Americano, Armenia - Colombia.
2005
A mediados de la primavera expone su obra más reciente en la Galería Siglo XXI. Castellón, España.
Coordina y participa junto a 45 artistas en la exposición internacional benéfica ‘Artists Units per una Causa’. Mercat d'Almassora, España.
2004
Es comisionado y participante como expositor, por la Galería Siglo XXI para la Feria de Arte de Sevilla, España
2003
Expone por segunda vez en la Galería Siglo XXI. Castellón, España.
2002
Expone en las tres salas del Cuerpo de Guardia, contiguas a las del establo donde se celebra la exposición ‘Las máquinas de Leonardo da Vinci’, en el Castillo Medieval de Peñíscola, España.
Expone en la Galería Siglo XXI. Castellón, España.
Muestra su trabajo en la Consellería de Cultura, Educacion y Ciencias. Castellón, España.
2001
Participa en la donación para la exposición internacional benéfica en favor de la Asociación Española contra el Cáncer.
Expone en la Galería Asensi. Castellón, España.
2000
Expone en el Edificio Moruno, el Grao. Castellón, España.
Expone en la Casa de Cultura de Benicassim, España.
1999
La filóloga española Isabel Bovea Menero, organiza y coordina exposición de su obra en el Centro Cultural Bancaixa. Almassora, España.
1998
Expone en la sala Sant Jhosep de la Caixa Rural de Almassora, España.
Exposición "Carlos Castillo", obra de pequeño formato, Casa de Cultura SMP. Armenia, Colombia.
1997
Primera exposición individual en España en el Edificio Moruno. El Grao, Castellón.
1996
Expone en el Museo Quimbaya, del Banco de la República. Armenia, Colombia.
Expone en el Parque Nacional del Café. Montenegro, Colombia.
Career
1997 — Viaja por España y Portugal.
2013
Entre el 2013 al 2017 - Dedicado de lleno a su taller logra perfeccionar el PDR, la resistencia del material y la técnica al calor, la humedad y el transcurrir del tiempo, son una prueba superada. Su obra escultórica y pictórica tiene un avance importante, al igual que las piezas creadas.
2012
Reafirma su clara intención de llevar lejos su PDR. Esculturas de gran tamaño y dificultad se apoderan de su taller.
2011
A comienzos de enero retorna a su Quindío natal y sin dejar de producir adelantos en sus cuadros y esculturas, experimenta grandes progresos en la depuración de su técnica escultórica PDR.
2010
Regresa a España, en primavera, mantiene su afán por los materiales ecológicos y reciclados en general; la reutilización de bolsas como soporte para sus pinturas, sigue siendo importante en su trabajo.
2008
De vuelta en su natal Quindío intensifica el desarrollo de su técnica escultórica PDR: vasijas, bodegones y figuras pequeñas, copan su atención día a día, para dejar a un lado, de manera temporal, exposiciones y vida pública.
2007
Viaja a los Estados Unidos, mientras pasa un tiempo en Marietta, Georgia, donde busca de nuevos espacios para su creación, esculpe ‘El limón’ obra de gran formato que se queda en una colección particular, en ese país. A finales del verano regresa a Colombia y participa en una subasta en Armenia con dos de sus pinturas: ‘Monalisa’ y ‘El hombre de las montañas’.
2006
Regresa a Colombia y permanece allí durante cinco meses.
2004
Ilustra la novela ‘Un veterano encuentra su destino’, del escritor colombiano César Hincapié Silva. Colombia.
2001
Se radica en España.
1997
Viaja por España y Portugal.
1968
Años 60's en La Calabria; finca y vereda donde da de los primeros trazos utilizando la tierra del patio como lienzo.
Awards
2025
Medalla A la Vida y Obra del Artista, como pintor y escultor, otorgada por el Centro Comercial Portal del Quindio. Armenia, Colombia.
2018
2º premio en el XVI Salón de Artistas Quindianos. Armenia, Colombia.
2009
Exaltacion al mérito artístico y su trayectoria por parte de la Asamblea Departamental del Quindío - Colombia.
1989
Ocupa el 1er lugar en el salón de Artistas del Eje Cafetero.