Veronica Castillo
“I work with the elements of life: water, earth, fire and air.”
Veronica Castillo
El Sueño de EVA. Photo by Antonia Padilla.
Verónica Castillo works on her polychromatic ceramics. Photo by Rosie Torres.
Renacimiento desde las Entrañas de mi Ser. Photo by Antonia Padilla.
Photo by Rosie Torres.
A sculpture by Veronica Castillo, titled "Madre Tonantzin / Mother Earth." Photo by Antonia Padilla.
Photo by Rosie Torres.
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A ceramicist of international renown
Verónica Castillo is an internationally acclaimed artist from Izúcar de Matamoros, Puebla, México, and now based in San Antonio, Texas. At a very young age, under the tutelage of her parents, renowned artists Don Alfonso Castillo Orta and Doña Soledad Martha Hernández Báez, she was exposed to the artistic technique of working in polychromatic ceramics, a tradition passed on from generation to generation. Verónica continues to build upon these traditions, while focusing on contemporary issues of injustice and inequality. Her exhibits have achieved national and international recognition, from the Smithsonian in Washington DC to the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago to the Museo Amparo in Puebla, Mexico. In 2013, Verónica Castillo received the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship Award. In 2023, Veronica received the Catalyst for a Change Fellowship Award from NALAC and the UTSA Democratizing Racial Justice Artist Residency. She is the owner of E.V.A. (Ecos y Voces de Arte), a gallery on the Southside of San Antonio. Together with an international network of artists, E.V.A. offers the space and support for various forms of cultural art to thrive.
What does being a Taproot Fellow mean to you in your practice and community?
I have deep gratitude for my work with art and with the community surrounding me. I work with the elements of life: water, earth, fire and air. I wouldn’t be my quality as a human being if I had not appreciated all that life has given me to be a steward in shaping and giving voice through the earth. Were I not capable of sharing this legacy that my ancestors have given me through this art, if I did not share it with others, I would be falling into a contradiction. That I would be seeking justice for Mother Earth and not have the ability to share it — that would be a true contradiction to my work and love of Mother Earth. The gift of Taproot gives me the opportunity to continue giving.
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