Fine arts graduate student Josie Del Castillo will present her MFA thesis exhibit titled “Self-Concept” covering themes of mental health, body image and growing up in the Mexican-American border culture.
“Self-Concept” will be on display in the Rusteberg Art Gallery in Brownsville starting Tuesday until March 22.
The exhibit will consist of 23 wood-panel paintings.
“My work is a combination of self-portraits and portraits of people that I am inspired by,” Del Castillo said. “They can … often analyze the reflection of myself.”
She said she painted several nude self-portraits because she believes there is a lack of representation of her body type.
“I want to make women, or more people, feel more comfortable in their skin and their body,” Del Castillo said.
She said she also wants to represent the Rio Grande Valley in a positive way.
In one painting, Del Castillo shows the Valley landscape using palm trees to make people feel at home and proud of their roots.
Asked for her inspirations to create her artwork, Del Castillo replied she has experienced anxiety.
“I think making art has been a way to cope with my anxiety,” she said. “That has made me more self-aware of, like, you know, my insecurities and the things that I need to work on myself.”
Alejandro Macias, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona School of Art, mentored Del Castillo when she started her master’s. Macias helped her navigate through her painting practice while he was a lecturer at UTRGV.
“Josie has an incredibly strong work ethic,” Macias said. “She is really … trying to embrace herself as a person and, you know, really understanding her value … as an artist.”
UTRGV art Lecturer Veronica Jaeger has also mentored Del Castillo in her artistic career.
“She has been able to create a very powerful body of work with her ideas within her master’s,” Jaeger said. “I think it’s a really fantastic project.”
The opening reception will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday in the Rusteberg Art Gallery in Brownsville.
Admission to the exhibit is free.
