The transience is a central theme in the art of Eric Decastro. In his work, Decastro explores the ephemeral nature of creation by experimenting with overpainting. These are not only testimonies to his technical skills but also an expression of his quest to change the materiality of content and form as metaphors for the fleeting and impermanent.
In viewing Decastro’s works, one is inevitably confronted with the idea that everything that exists is subject to change. His images, which often create the illusion of a landscape or a space photograph, invite us to question the limits of our perception and explore the deeper meanings of life. Moreover, the viewer’s eye seeks an attempt at order in Decastro’s subject and must recognize that there is no beginning and no end. Rather, it is the complete existence of the essence of the essential. He enters a state of artificial cognitive dissonance because he must inevitably recognize: Understanding only receives the consolation prize; to comprehend the artist’s work, he must experience and feel it.
The use of light and shadow, which varies depending on the viewing angle, symbolizes the constant change to which we are all subject, but also the polar wholeness of the soul, both temporal and timeless. Khalil Gibran already wrote in his work “The Prophet” about time: “But if you must measure time in seasons, let each season encompass all other seasons. And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing.”
Decastro himself, born in the picturesque region of Burgundy in France, began his artistic journey through great perfection. He especially incorporates the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism into the creation of his art, and the touch of this transience inevitably resonates. Ultimately, the symbol of the circle is continually found as a recurring principle in his works. Especially in Zen Buddhism, this motif is central, and “For Zen, the circle means enlightenment. It symbolizes human perfection.” The mandalas that appear in Buddhism also often consist only of geometric figures and are structured according to the principle of four- or eightfold division. Four functions of consciousness: thinking, feeling, intuiting, and sensing, both internally and externally. The experience of the round as an archaïque Images have always been established in the outside world as a psychological whole. During the process of viewing, one cannot help but relate the coherence of the original whole to the higher self within oneself.
With the series “Night in White Shadows,” he deals with perfect purity. This theme is immediately brought to the fore through the immaculate white images. The viewer’s gaze is directly drawn to the open space without detours. Outward movements act in his work like radiation effects, emanating from an existential core that remains untouched. The question of the spirit, which he materializes in a structure and suspects in nature, is thus directed into the open space. Hermetic movements form only a minority and push to the surface, resulting in a counterpoint vibration and yet freeing the spirit of the matter within. Meanwhile, the symbolic power almost lets the associative spaces of the heavenly spirit, which shows the wholeness in body and mind, germinate.
Decastro’s artworks are not only visually appealing but also invite self-reflection. His works are a meditation on the nature of the mind, especially seen in his work “Back from a Near Death Experience Level 1,” where Eric Decastro processed his near-death experience in 2008. His art acts like a relic, original, not of this world. His intention to increasingly elevate and depict the near-death experience into the spiritual, he has realized with these works and transferred from consciousness into matter. His art teaches us that the true nature of man is clear, unclouded by thoughts and emotions. This teaching finds an echo in Decastro’s art, which invites us to recognize the original purity and effortless emergence of all phenomena.
Transience in Decastro’s art is thus not only a theme but also a guide. It teaches us to see the beauty in the transient and to explore the deeper layers of reality. His works are a reminder that the true essence of life lies in change and transience. The slightly larger white section in the middle of one of the works in the series “Night in White Shadows” stands out particularly, but the eye also perceives the smaller white spots, the elevations making everything appear in a connectedness. Just as we as humans are always connected to everything, without consciously perceiving this fact. Everything inside also shows itself as resonance on the outside. The principle of duality: transience and permanence inevitably resonate only together. We perceive one only because we know the other. Thus, the color white is particularly highlighted on a dark background. The great deceivers are space and time, for everything always happens simultaneously. The sun and moon always appear simultaneously at both poles of the world, and we know for certain that we will always experience the interplay equally, without our active participation.
Author: Kira Weber
The artist Eric Decastro was born in the picturesque landscape of Burgundy in France and found himself in the extraordinary situation of growing up in an artist and entrepreneur family. Thus, he has internalized both sides, the creative and the economic. As a master student of Prof. Markus Lüpertz, he absorbed much of his essence and further developed this learned knowledge in his art. Moreover, his creative process is subject to continuous change, which makes him and his works so unique.
His works can be found in numerous significant collections, such as the collection of Deutsche Bank, SAL-Oppenheim, Reinhold Würth Collection Künzelsau, Eduardo Hochschild Collection Lima Peru, Inca-Cola Collection Peru/Atlanta USA, and the Reinhard Ernst Museum Wiesbaden, to name just a few of the renowned names.
Bibliography:
Gibran, Khalil: “The Prophet,” Hamburg 2023.
Jung, Carl Gustav: “Man and His Symbols,” Madrid 1991.
Lange, Dieter: “Winners are Recognized at the Start - Losers Too,” Berlin 2023.

Eric Decastro, geboren in Burgund, studierte Kunst in Deutschland bei der Meisterklasse des weltberühmten Künstlers Prof. Markus Lüpertz an der Kunsthochschule Kolbermoor in Bayern.
Er widmete sich mehr als 20 Jahre lang der figurativen Malerei und entdeckte 2008 nach seinen ersten Begegnungen mit dem deutschen Künstler Hermann Nitsch die vielfältigen Facetten der Abstraktion, die er immer mehr in seine Materialien zu integrieren versuchte.

Thematisch thematisiert Decastro das Thema Vergänglichkeit und Vergänglichkeit.
Die Vergänglichkeit von Pflanzen und Leben hat ihn schon immer fasziniert.
Er malte bis zu 80 % seiner Werke neu, wodurch einige Aspekte der alten Malerei wieder zum Vorschein kamen.
Das Ergebnis erinnert an das materielle Verschwinden von Bildern und ihre Vergänglichkeit.
Der Betrachter wird in einen farbenfrohen und poetischen Kosmos hineingezogen, der bewusst so gestaltet ist, dass er die Illusion von Landschaften oder Außenräumen ermöglicht.
Die meditativen Qualitäten seiner Werke versetzen den Betrachter in das Bild und versetzen ihn in einen Zustand innerer Ruhe.
Er arbeitet in großen Formaten und verwendet alle Techniken, die zur abstrakten expressionistischen Kunst gehören.
Decastro interessiert sich in seinen Gemälden besonders für das Gleichgewicht zwischen Farbe und Licht: Die Dichte und der pastose Auftrag der Farben spielen eine wichtige Rolle.
Éric Decastro hat mehrfach in den Vereinigten Staaten, Peru, Mexiko, Südkorea und vielen anderen Ländern auf der ganzen Welt ausgestellt.
Diese Hauptausstellungen der letzten Jahre fanden 2016 im Torrance Art Museum in Los Angeles mit insbesondere Gerhard Richter, Ed Ruscha im Villa Rot Museum in Bayern mit Orlan, Fischli & Weiss und Wim Delvoye statt; sowie 2017 im Museum Villa Seiz mit Markus Lüpertz, Allan Jones, Tom Wesselmann und Hermann Nitsch.
Im Jahr 2021, 2022 mit Tony Cragg.
2018 nahm er an der Ulsan Biennale in Südkorea teil.
Die Werke von Éric Decastro sind in bedeutenden öffentlichen und privaten Sammlungen wie der Deutschen Bank/SAL-Oppenheim, dem RE-Museum Wiesbaden, der Sammlung Museum Schloss Mochental, dem UGM Museum Maribor in Slowenien, dem Torrance Art Museum USA, dem Kunstverein Heppenheim Deutschland und der Sammlung Hochschild vertreten Peru, Lindley Peru Collection, Reinhold Würth Künzelsau Museum und viele andere.

Eric Decastro née en Bourgogne a fait ses études d'art en Allemagne a la Masterclass de l’artiste mondialement connu prof. Markus Lüpertz à l'académie d'art de Kolbermoor en Bavière.
Il se consacre pendant plus de 20 ans à la peinture figurative et découvre en 2008 après ses premières rencontres avec l'artiste allemand Hermann Nitsch, les multiples facettes de l‘abstraction, qu‘il essaie d’intégrer de plus en plus dans ses matériaux.

Thématiquement, Decastro aborde le sujet de la transience et la fugacité.
Le caractère éphémère des plantes et de la vie l’ a toujours fasciné
Il repeint jusqu’à 80 % de ses Œuvres , en laissant quelques aspects de l’ancien tableau réapparaître.
Le résultat évoquent la disparition matérielle des images et leur caractère éphémère.
Le spectateur est entraîné dans un cosmos coloré et poétique, conçu intentionnellement pour permettre l'illusion de paysages ou d'espaces extérieurs.
Les qualités méditatives de ses oeuvres font que l‘observateur est transporté dans l‘image, qui le plonge dans un état de paix intérieure.
Travaillant des formats de grande taille, il utilise toutes les techniques qui font partie de l'art abstrait expressionniste.
Decastro s’intéresse particulièrement à l’équilibre entre la couleur et l’éclairage de ses peintures: l’épaisseur et l’empâtement des couleurs jouent un rôle important.
Éric Decastro a exposé plusieurs fois aux États-Unis, au Pérou, au Mexique, En Corée du Sud , Et dans bien d’autres pays du monde.
Ces expositions principales des dernières années on eut lieu au Torrance Art Museum à Los Angeles en 2016 avec notamment Gerhard Richter, Ed Ruscha au Musée Villa Rot en Bavière avec Orlan, Fischli & Weiss et Wim Delvoye; ainsi qu'en 2017 au Musée Villa Seiz avec Markus Lüpertz, Allan Jones, Tom Wesselmann et Hermann Nitsch.
En 2021, 2022 Avec Tony Cragg.
Il a participé en 2018 à la Biennale de Ulsan en Corée du Sud.
Les œuvres de Éric Decastro sont présentes dans de grandes collections publiques et privées comme la Deutsche Bank/SAL-Oppenheim, RE-Museum Wiesbaden, Museum Schloss Mochental Collection, UGM Museum Maribor en Slovénie, Torrance Art Museum USA, Kunstverein Heppenheim Allemagne, Collection Hochschild Pérou, Collection Lindley Pérou, Musée Reinhold Würth Künzelsau, et beaucoup d’autres.

Request and Sale:
Galerie Uhn Königstein/Taunus (D), Galerie Reitz Zürich (CH), Galerie Mathias Bloch Younique Paris (F) und Lima (Peru) , Galerie Z Stuttgart (D), Galerie Schrade Schloss Mochental (D) ARC-Rising LLC Wilmington (USA)