Castro, Karl

Karl Castro (b. 1986) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice engages deeply with the intersections of art, history, and community. His work spans painting, weaving, collage, photomedia, and exhibition-making, often addressing themes of materiality, the emergence and circulation of knowledge, institutional memory, and collective narratives. Design functions as a complementary discipline within his broader practice, particularly in contexts where visual culture intersects with historical and archival inquiry.

Castro has held solo exhibitions at institutions such as Chidori Bunka, Jorge B. Vargas Museum, Ayala Museum, Giant Dwarf Art Space, and Project Space Pilipinas. His collaborations with cultural institutions, libraries, and archives have resulted in exhibitions and public installations that probe shared histories and contemporary realities. In 2022, he collaborated with curator Marian Pastor Roces and communities of indigenous and Muslim women for Weaving Women’s Words on Wounds of War at the Ateneo Art Gallery, a project rooted in memory and lived experience. His 2023 residency under AIRΔ Vol. 7 Osaka explored the legacy of Asia’s inaugural World Exposition and the Philippines’ participation within the context of a rising authoritarian regime. In 2024, he contributed to the development of Locations of Freedom, the Philippine Pavilion at the 15th Gwangju Biennale.

In parallel, Castro has cultivated a significant design practice, working on cultural and scholarly publications, as well as cinematic posters. He is a lecturer at the Department of Fine Arts, Ateneo de Manila University, and serves as research head for @brutalistpilipinas, a platform dedicated to the study and appreciation of brutalist architecture in the Philippines. His practice is consistently informed by an engagement with cultural history, craft, and the complexities of Filipino identity.