Born: Brownsville, Texas, USA; 1991

Juan Antonio Castillo is an American artist of Mexican descent. He graduated from both Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and Southern Methodist University, receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2013. He enjoys creating representational paintings infused with surrealist undertones and social commentary. Rather than directly stating personal positions, Castillo tends to juxtapose seemingly contrasting images/ideas and observe the product for any resulting harmony or tension; the aim of his work is to provoke thought, especially personal introspection.

In addition to being a working professional artist, Castillo is both a co-founder of Gallery 86 (www.gallery86.org), an online art gallery, and a full-time graduate student in the nutrition and exercise physiology program at Columbia University in the City of New York. Though his interests in art and nutrition & exercise may appear disjointed, they are linked by a deep interest in the aesthetics and performance of the human body.