New England sculptor and painter Fermin Castro knew he was an artist from the time he was a child, drawing in classes with friends. But he wouldn’t realize that calling until after a detour into the sciences.
“Social media is also a good chance to be in contact with different kinds of artists, specifically for an emerging artist today. That’s very important because you will be able to adapt an idea or form and transform it into your own style of artistic expression.” Castro told the Sampan.
Castro’s exhibit of abstract figurative wood sculptures, “Origins,” was recently on display at the Boston Sculptors Gallery’s Launchpad and he has permanent public art in Somerville at Symphony Park and the Marshall Street Children’s Park. Both were carved from tree trunks in 2000 and 2022. His traveling shows include wooden sculptures and acrylic paintings.
Born and raised in Havana, Castro studied chemistry at the University of Havana, starting a career in that field before moving to Miami in 1994. He is a self-taught artist and credits his time in the scientific field as where he learned to pay attention to detail and have patience and persistence — all qualities that are helpful in his work as an artist. He studied other artists’ work in books and museums, as well as using social media to learn.
“Now, social media also is a good chance to be in contact with different new artists, you know, emerging artists. That’s very important. Texting people that express an idea which fitted me in the way that I really want to create my own style without (forgetting) the old artist language in Havana, you know; I just learned from them and I get what is the idea of the Cuban style.”
When asked how being a part of the Cuban Diaspora affected his work he said that after emigrating to another country, “one realizes how one has absorbed one’s own culture, having been immersed in life in Havana and being surrounded by friends. All of these cultural ‘ingredients’ are expressed and incorporated into my art.”
“Being an immigrant in this country is a very interesting process for everyone. So I am not an exception. What was kind of tough was when I tried to go from Havana to Miami where my family was. Eventually, I went to Europe and from there to Miami, asking for political asylum in1994. The beginning of my life in Miami was kind of difficult. The language was the first barrier. I just tried to get involved in school, prepare at the same time, and find a job related to my degree.”
Castro says each piece her creates has a story behind it, but one that is special is a piece called “Pittire,” which is named after the onomatopoeia sound that a certain bird makes. When Castro was a child in Cuba, his grandfather told him about the bird making the purring sound as it flew over the countryside. The “Pittire” piece is made from red oak from New York.
From that picture he found the perfect piece of seasoned wood and carved then sanded it to perfection until it gave way to the shape of the bird he envisioned. “Pittire” is just over a foot tall at 14 inches, with two holes in the center; one is reminiscent of a bird’s eye. The other serves to move the eye over the shapes of the body and bring it back to the bird’s curved beak.
His process for a new piece starts with a sketch and forming an idea, which often comes early in the morning around 3 or 4 a.m.. He then obtains the perfect piece of wood. He has piles of wood drying at his home studio: black walnut, cherry maple, silver maple. He often waits years until the wood is perfectly seasoned, before beginning to carve it. Once the piece is carved, it takes time to sand it to perfection. Some pieces take as little as 10 days while other, more complex pieces, he may work on for over month.
Several of Castro’s pieces are long, thin, gently curved pieces, some with sharp points that evoke living organic creatures. They have emerged from the wood under a skillful hand. They have names such as “Lungfish” and “Figure with Spined Tail,” and “Origins.” Several of these pieces are made of African mahogany, and have beautiful rich brown tones. One piece entitled “Caribbean Soul” stands at over 31-inches tall with a gently curved body making way to a square shaped top, its black walnut wood painstakingly sanded to perfection.
His paintings include “Pequena Forma Nocturna/Small Nocturnal Form Series: Early Dreams,” which features white shapes moving across a negative space. There seems to be no beginning or end to the shapes, they feel infinite and practically writhe under the viewer’s eyes. The other paintings are in a similar style with different colors. There is “Form in Red” and “Figure Transforming to Blue/Figura Convirtiendoes al Azul.”
“In my mind,” he says of his work, “I created a picture.”
