"Painting is like an open door. Once you walk through it a journey begins. Nature and the cycle of life are my inspiration.
I use multiple layers of color and shapes to echo the covering and uncovering process of the earth and its constant movement. Through painting I transcend the actual experiences that inspire me to discover them on a spiritual level." - H.A.

For Alonso, painting is about the process; the space upon which ideas are grappled with, or revealed. Planning and intentions vanish when engagement with the materials trigger spontaneous acts. Alonso's method is enteric; moving from wall to floor, and turning the canvas in all directions. Each section gives way to the next, as multiple stories begin to take shape. The result is a demonstration of "pictorial unconscious." Stunningly sensitive to the power and vulnerability of memory, man, and the polyculture in which we exist.

Alonso is a member of the Art Students League of New York, where he has studied painting, drawing and sculpture with teachers: William Scharf, Larry Poons, Anthony Palumbo, and Charles Hinman.

Hilario Alonso Castillo was born in Soto y Gama Huaquechula Puebla, Mexico.
He lives and works in New York City.

RECENT SHOWS:

• 'Life Celebration', solo show at the Other Room, Tribeca, New York ( 2012).
• '30 Artists 30 Years', international juried exhibition. Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery, New York.
• 'Figuratively Speaking', at the Loom, Brooklyn, NY (2011).
• Short video at Macy Gallery, Columbia University, New York (2010).
• Solo show, Eventa (2009).
• 'Breaking The Skin', New York (2008).
• 'French, American Ties Fostered', Betty Mix Studio at FIAF (2007).
• 'Fact and Metaphor', CWOW ( 2007).
• Seton Hall University School of Law, New Jersey( 2007).
• 'Art for Change', group show at the Museum of the City of New York (2006).
• The Carlitos Gallery and Cultural Center (2006).
• Cork Gallery at the Lincoln Center, New York (2003).
• The Angel Orensanz Foundation, New York (2003).

PREFORMANCES:

• 'Us as Canvas' in colloboration with Olga Rudenko, Harlem Open Studios, New York City (2012).
• 'Step into Somebody Else's Shoes', in colloboration with Olga Rudenko. 8 to 8 State of Creative Emergency, Union Square, New York City (2012).

VIDEOS:

• 'The Man Searching for Himself', Macy Gallery, Columbia University, New York (2010).