RICK CASTRO FOREVER

Rick Castro: Graumans~2007

RICK CASTRO FOREVER: Photographic Retrospective of Life & Death 

Photographic collection presented at the historic Hollywood Columbarium curated by Tyler Cassity and Rick Castro~ 1986 thru 2022~ 

Reflecting themes of love, melancholy, meditation and remembrance with inclusions of masks images as an offering for

 Dia de Los Muertos. 

The Hollywood Columbarium at Hollywood Forever

6000 Santa Monica Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90038

Info~ antebellum@earthlink.net   

Opening reception~ October 5th, 2023~ 4- 7pm

on exhibit by appointment thru November 30th, 2023

Special events to be announced

As a third generation Los Angeleno, I’ve always had an affinity with Hollywood Forever.

I was a precocious teen who sometimes played hooky to spend the day exploring Hollywood, eventually ending up at what was then still called the Hollywood Cemetery. During the ‘70s, it was in a state of disrepair but this only enhanced the gothic atmosphere to which I was drawn.

As a young gay man in the 1980s, I found myself attending more funerals than my parents. The first plague, AIDS, took numerous friends, including the love of my life, Joey Napierkowski. Death was all around me. I was forced to become a goth. 

For me, cemeteries represent not sorrow, but celebration. The effect is one of calming acceptance of continuum.  

After spending a lengthy amount of time in Europe, I was pleased to find the purpose of cemeteries there more aligned to my beliefs.

They serve as public parks where people are welcome to relax and spend time on a daily basis. Not only for those visiting loved ones, but for anyone looking for serenity in an urban jungle. 

As an elder gay man, I place no restrictions on presenting myself.  Art, love, and sex are equal forms of enlightenment. 

Life is all about death. Death is all about life.

Rick Castro~ September, 2023

Rick Castro: Death Mask~ 2013

Rick Castro is a photographer, filmmaker, and writer who has been based in Los Angeles his entire life.

Castro has created portraits for Gore Vidal, Kenneth Anger, Michele Lamy, and the 14th Dalai Lama.

His photographic editorials have been used by Christian Dior Homme, Cartier, and Rick Owens. 

Castro’s photography has been exhibited at Triennale Di Milano, Participant Gallery, NYC, ICA Los Angeles, Venice Biennale, and Community Centre, Paris.

Castro has received three grants by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Los Angeles, and one by the City of West Hollywood.

This year, Castro’s photography was included in Collective Memory Installation at Grand Park, Los Angeles. 

Queering The Lens, a slide presentation and lecture featuring Castro, ran at the Getty Center, Brentwood, in 2023.

This October, Castro’s photography will be part of QUEER-ISH: Photography & the LGBTQ+ Imaginary, a historic group exhibition at the Ruth Chandler Williamson Art Gallery, Scripps College, Claremont.

Castro’s photography and writings will be featured in Copy Machine Manifesto: Artists Who Make Zines, at the Brooklyn Museum, from November 15, 2023, through February 15, 2024.

Rick Castro: Black Stagg~ 2015