Interview with artist Raul Castro-Cerrato

A Conversation With Artist Raul Castro-Cerrato

By inside + out | October 9, 2023

Exquisite Corpse is a fascinating exhibit now on display at the Everett and Treadwell building in Kingston, running through October 29th. The concept for Exquisite Corpse was Inspired by a game from the ’20s when it was adopted as a technique by artists of the Surrealist movement to generate collaborative compositions.

The exhibit, curated by Abraham Cruz, follows the journey of seven artists/collaborators with one rooted seed – queer culture: past, present, and future. Each artist will present their journey as members of the queer community and the visual representation of a collaborative journey through the game Exquisite Corpse.

EXQUISITE CORPSE
September 29th – October 29th
At the Everett & Treadwell Building, 33 Canfield Kingston NY
On the Ground Level and Second Floor

INSIDE+OUT is pleased to introduce artist Raul Castro-Cerrato, one of the seven artists participating in the Exquisite Corpse exhibit. Let’s learn more about Raul Castro-Cerrato and his journey in th arts.

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Where are you originally from and how does that affect your work?

I was born in Tela, Honduras, a coastal Caribbean town. I immigrated to NYC in ‘84, grew up in Hell’s Kitchen during the 80’s then moved to The Bronx in ‘92. My art consists of childhood adventures full of mythology, family stories of struggles and triumphs, and traditional rights of passage. Basically 80’s movies of coming of age.

Who are your biggest artistic influences?

I have varied influences, Pablo Neruda, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, William Blake, and David Hockney. Each artist plays with mythology, allegory, rights of passage, and simple ways to express the wonders of life.

Tell us about your work as an artist?

My work is about trying to understand my human experience. Using religion, mythology, and societal notions as my base. I also incorporate the part of me that breaks away from tradition and embraces modernity.

What was your reaction when you were invited to participate in Exquisite Corpse?

My first reaction was excitement, I remember many nights in art school drinking red wine in mugs playing this game. My second thought was that I didn’t want to make a mistake on something that someone else spent time to create. The excitement was the winner in the end.

Exquisite Corpse Artwork by Abraham Cruz, Raul Castro-Cerrrato, Anita Ragusa

Artwork: Abraham Cruz + Raul Castro-Cerrrato + Anita Ragusa

Tell us about your experience collaborating with the participating artists – were you intimidated, excited and/or inspired to add to someone else’s work?

Oh man, in my experience working on a blank piece, was as challenging as having to work on top of what another artist has done. The difference though was that once a mark is initially made on the paper it becomes a language. Treating this collaboration as a visual conversation helped ease any intimidations.

Describe your creative process for this project and did this change or evolve with each session?

At first I decided to think of The Exquisite Corpse in the terms of the game. I started thinking, in art, what the top, middle, and bottom of paintings express. Tops are full of skies, heavens, and gods. The Middle is full of vastness, land, and humans. Last but not least the lower part is full of unknowns, oceans and underworlds. What threw a wrench in all this thinking was that the boundaries of top, middle, and bottom changed. When we had to work on top of each other’s work. That’s when, in my opinion, the fun began. Visual conversations at its best.

What was your goal in participating in Exquisite Corpse and do you feel you’ve accomplished it?

I didn’t have a goal. I loved the fact that it was an experiment amongst different artists. The great thing about an Exquisite Corpse game is that the outcome surprises everyone and hopefully will give each artist a new understanding of how their art is part of a bigger conversation.

Exquisite Corpse Artwork by Abraham Cruz, Raul Castro-Cerrrato, William van Roden

Artwork: Raul Castro-Cerrrato + William van Roden + Abraham Cruz

What impact do you hope this exhibition has on the audience?

In the least I’d like everyone to get a piece of paper, fold it, and have a blast drawing silly things. At most, to let everyone know that our differences make us unique but at the same time we are not different at all. Combining different points of views creates new understandings.

Do you believe art can affect societal issues?

100%. Art is all around us, to be human means to have art as a means of language. Visual symbols transcend any language. No wonder Emojis are universal. But art can only do that as long as it can be understood as integral to human evolution as science and math and social politics.

What are you working on now that you’re excited about?

I would like to use mark-making on a large scale to create land/city/sea-scapes.

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Follow Exquisite Corpse @exquisitecorpse2023

Raul Castro-Cerrato studied photography at The Hetrick-Martin Institute. Then, he received his BFA from The Cooper Union School of Art, with a concentration in Printmaking, Painting, and Photography. Much of his work incorporates elements of all three art processes. Working at Mark Markheim Black and White custom printing, he gained a big understanding of how art impacts mass media– printing for various publications such as Rolling Stone, l’Uomo Vogue, and Interview Magazine. His work has been exhibited in the Annual Transatlantic Pride art exhibition, New York/London, Family Albums 2010, The Strong Men 2014, and Strong Man X 2017 Group shows held at The Jewish Museum of New Jersey, in Newark. As the Youngest of three immigrant children from Honduras, Raul was able to adjust to his surroundings fairly quickly. Speaking English in school and only Spanish at home he understood that ideas of oneself changed from one environment to another. With the realization at an early age of being gay, he became aware that life is full of dualities. His work tackles notions of contrasts that we carry within us. How they affect the people we love and our own perception of who we are.