Rosana Castrillo Diaz

Rosana Castrillo Diaz creates graphite-on-paper drawings, wall relief sculptures, and installations, predominantly in monochromatic all-white tones. Her artistic explorations focus on themes of invisibility, the everyday, solidity, and immateriality.

Biography of Rosana Castrillo Diaz

Rosana Castrillo Diaz was born in 1971 in Spain. She earned a BFA in 1993 from Facultad de Bellas Artes, Universidad Complutense in Madrid, followed by a BFA in 1996 from the Cleveland Institute of Art in Cleveland. She then studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and finally obtained an MFA in 2003 from Mills College in Oakland.

Throughout her career, the artist has received numerous awards and accolades, including the Frohring Foundation Graphic Design Award (1995), the Photographer’s Forum Magazine Excellence Award (1999), the SECA Art Award (2004), and the Artadia Art Award (2005).

Castrillo Diaz's solo exhibitions have been held at various venues, including Anthony Meier Fine Arts, Ameringer|McEnery|Yohe, and Shasta College. Her works have also found a permanent home in numerous public collections, including Mills College Art Museum in Oakland, Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, and Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, among others.

Currently, the artist lives and works in San Francisco.

Rosana Castrillo Diaz's Art Style

For nearly two decades since moving to the Bay Area, Rosana Castrillo Diaz has cultivated an artistic practice focused on the exploration of light. Her meticulous and experimental body of work, predominantly abstract, revolves around sculpture and wall-based pieces. Her artworks  take varied forms, ranging from veils of looped Scotch tape and clusters of twisted paper to painted wall murals and, more recently, pieces incorporating text.

The artist explores perceptual themes—what and how we perceive—and finds beauty and inspiration in small, unexpected moments or places. Additionally, she has maintained a dedicated practice of drawing, not merely as preparatory sketches for other mediums, but as a distinct and exceptional creative pursuit in its own right.