Eduardo Castrillo

Eduardo De Los Santos Castrillo (b. October 31, 1942) is an award winning Filipino sculptor. He was born in Santa Ana, Manila. He is the youngest of five children of Santiago Silva Castrillo, a jeweler, and Magdalena De Los Santos, a leading actress in Zarzuelas and Holy Week pageants in Makati, Philippines. Castrillo was a Republic Cultural Heritage awardee. He is also a jewelry artist and designer.

Profile

In 1964, a Swiss designer and jewelery store owner of Estrella del Norte (a shop for the illustrious and wealthy whose main branch was in Paris) in the Philippines invited Castrillo, who was then a young juvenile delinquent, to design jewelry on the spot. In twenty minutes, the young Castrillo finished seven colored designs. The European was astounded by Castrillo's output, and soon hired Castrillo "to create anything" Castrillo "wanted and never to follow the trend".

This fateful meeting launched the career of Castrillo, making him one of Asia's most celebrated and progressive sculptors. Castrillo did not formally study sculpture. His schooling in the arts was limited to commercial art advertising. To expand his skills and knowledge, after gaining recognition as a sculptor, Castrillo took up architectural subjects rather than art courses.

In 1966, Castrillo broke into the contemporary art field by holding an exhibit that stirred critics who had experienced "difficulty" in formally categorizing the range of Castrillo's works. In the same year, a great number of local and international collectors became attracted to Castrillo's atelier. In 1971, at the age of twenty-nine, Castrillo received The Araw ng Maynila Centennial Award (Manila Day Centennial Award), the Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Award, and the Outstanding Makati Resident Award as well as the national Republic Cultural Heritage Award. Castrillo was later sent as the Philippine's official representative at the Paris Biennale and the Venice Biennale.

Castrillo's sculpting techniques included in particular "embossed copper" and "constructed and welded brass". Apart from creating intricate jewelery designs, Castrillo also composed visual art pieces for monuments, reliefs, galleries, objects d'art and theatre sets.

Awards

• 13th Artist Award of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, 1970
• Republic Cultural Heritage Award, 1971
• Araw ng Maynila Centennial Award, 1971
• Ten Outstanding Young Men Award, 1971
• Outstanding Makati Resident Award, 1971
• Outstanding Sta. Ana Resident Award, 1974
• Outstanding Son of Binan Award, Maduro Club, 1980
• Outstanding Son of Laguna Award, Laguna Lion's Club, 1981
• Adopted Son of Cebu, Charter Day of Cebu, 1996
• Green and Gold Artist Award, Far Eastern University, 1998
• Most Outstanding Citizen Award of Quezon City, Quezon City Foundation Day 2003

References

1. Endaya, Imelda Cajipe (artist and independent curator) and Cecilia B. Rebong (Philippine Consul-General). "Pamana: Modernong Sining" (A Heritage of Modern Art), An Art Exhibit from the Collection of the Philippine Center in New York, Printed Catalogue, The Consulate General of the Philippines, Philippine Center Management Board, and PCGNY.net, June 11, 2007

See also

• Philippine Center, New York City