Jordan Casteel: Returning the Gaze

Jordan Casteel: Returning the Gaze features nearly 30 paintings by Denver-born artist Jordan Casteel, who is now based in Harlem, New York. This presentation represents Casteel’s first major museum exhibition, and provides audiences with a first look at new work by one of the most acclaimed emerging artists working today.

The exhibition brings together a body of work made from 2014 to 2018, with new paintings that reveal Casteel’s evolving practice and a shift in subject matter ranging from cityscapes and subway scenes to women and local business owners. Casteel’s approach to selecting subjects involves walking around her neighborhood and taking photographs. By transforming these photographs into larger-than-life portraits with subtle shifts in light, bold colors, and gestural brushwork, Casteel reveals individuals and atmospheres that often go unnoticed.

denverartmuseum.org