Friday, March 28, 2014

Margaret Cho Collaborates with World-Renowned Surrealist VINCENT CASTIGLIA to Create Portrait of Comedian with Her Own Blood



New York City’s resident blood-wielding surrealist, VINCENT CASTIGLIA, is honored to announce that he will be creating a personally commissioned portrait of world-famous comedian Margaret Cho, exclusively in her own blood. Last week, Cho arrived at his studio to donate her blood for the project, which was ciphered with the help of a phlebotomist.

“Margaret had interviewed me for a hardcover art anthology called, ‘TOME 2’, then again for her talk show, Monsters of Talk,” said VINCENT CASTIGLIA in an interview with Examiner.com. “Initially we had talked about doing it in her menstrual blood--- she asked if it was possible and I let her know that I could incorporate menstrual blood into the painting but there would be no way that there would be enough of it to paint a full-scale painting. I told her that if she wanted it entirely in her blood, then it would have to be collected intravenously.”


VINCENT CASTIGLIA is the first American artist to receive a solo exhibition invitation from Oscar Award-winning artist H.R. Giger in the history of the H. R. Giger Museum Gallery. Vincent’s art has been praised by fellow artists, musicians, and other notables throughout his career.

“With such precise technique, his depiction of human musculature is nothing short of outstanding.”  
– Paul Booth / World-renowned Tattooist, Artist, Gallery Owner, Fanatical Nihilist

“If the body is the temple, then the heart is the altar and the blood is the sacred flame that enlightens the shrine. Vincent is painting with holy light.” – Martin Eric Ain / Musician, Celtic Frost

“The ominous truth that his art confronts, along with the exquisiteness in which it is portrayed, provides a timeless revelation into human existence.” – Joe Sopkowics, Forensic Photographer


In the privacy of his studio, VINCENT CASTIGLIA practices a kind of modern-day phlebotomy, siphoning the life force which contains his own psychic energy, while giving it an outlet and form. In doing so, he dissolves the barrier between artist and art in a most literal and immediate sense. Vincent’s figures, their musculature and skin, are painted with what could be thought of as “liquid flesh”. Its tendency to quicken the subjects is likely inapproachable by any other medium---as it is actual tissue with which it is being rendered. In this way the subject’s realism is not merely an optical illusion due to its level of detail, but rather is an actual transference of flesh and blood to each work.

VINCENT CASTIGLIA’s impressive work has seen many sides of the entertainment world, as well. MTV New Media's Horror-Slasher Film, Savage County, featured his art as its official movie poster, depicting the three murderers in the film. Prior to the film, Vincent painted album art for heavy metal band Triptykon's 2010 debut release, Eparistera Daimones. Triptykon is founded by former Hellhammer / Celtic Frost singer and guitarist Tom Gabriel Fischer. Vincent also painted the DVD cover for Fangoria Presents film, Corpsing.

His work has been featured on The National Geographic Channel (NatGeo), FOX News, CNBC, BBC, New York 1 News, Spike TV, The Discovery Channel, and The Science Channel. Castiglia was also recently a guest on the Jay Thomas Show on Sirius XM Radio. His work has been explored by countless art and culture publications, in the US and internationally, including the New York Post, New York Daily News, The Huffington Post, Art Business News, International Business Times, Bizarre Magazine, as well as Lexikon Der Phantastischen Künstler “The international encyclopedia of fantastic, surrealistic, symbolist, & visionary artists”. He was also recently awarded "Tattoo Artist of the Year" in ThisisHorror.uk's "This Is Horror Awards 2012".

His work hangs in many distinguished collections internationally, among them, the collection of Rock legend Gregg Allman.  Vincent’s paintings have been exhibited at museums and galleries in the US, and internationally, including CoproGallery, (Santa Monica, California), Last Rites Gallery (New York) The Museum of Sex (New York), The Museum Of Porn In Art, (Switzerland), The HR Giger Museum Gallery, (Switzerland), , The Mall Gallery (London, England) Canvas Los Angeles (Los Angeles California), Fuse Gallery (New York), Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center (Ft. Myers, Florida), Art @ Large Gallery (New York) Gallery Lombardi (Austin Texas), L’imagerie Gallery (Hollywood, California), Museo De La Cuidad De Mexico, (Mexico), C-Pop Gallery (Detroit, Michigan), Shooting Gallery (San Francisco, CA), Seed Gallery (Newark, New Jersey), The 7th Annual Dirty Show (Detroit, Michigan),  as well as The Congregation Gallery (Hollywood, California).

For more information on VINCENT CASTIGLIA, please visit www.vincentcastigliaart.com.

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