Jordan Casteel

Bio

Jordan Casteel is an American figurative painter who typically paints portraits of Black men, including friends, lovers, family members, and strangers she meets in Harlem. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Painting in the Department of Arts, Culture, and Media at Rutgers University. Casteel lives and works in New York, NY and is represented by Casey Kaplan Gallery. Here she discusses the struggle to strike a balance between teaching and maintaining a rigorous studio practice, the ways in which expectation and public opinion can creep into your process, and the meditative nature of being a painter.