Rodrigo Castro Artilheiro
RODRIGO Castro Artilheiro was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, He is a former World Class Martial Artist and Athlete, who began sculpting to alleviate the symptoms of PTSD he developed after the death of his father.
Rodrigo learned the art of sculpting in the US, Greece, and Israel. In 2020 Rodrigo was requested by CT Vivian`s family (Civil Rights Icon) to sculpt him in bronze, nowadays the bust of CT Vivian, sculpted by Rodrigo is part of the private collections of the Great Atlanta History Center Museum in Atlanta, Georgia.
Rodrigo, also sculpted the third woman in the 20th century to become a leader of a nation, The Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, the Sculpture being displayed at the Technological College in Be`er Sheva, Israel in 2022, founded by Golda.
Besides having sculptures across the Globe, Rodrigo wants to spread his sculpting method, the Clay for the brain also. Rodrigo Taught the Clay for the brain at Drew High School in Atlanta, Georgia, and at the Stilwell School of the Arts, in Georgia. Rodrigo has also taught 29 Arts Teachers in Atlanta his clay for the brain method.
Artistic Statement
"Every time I sculpt I put on the clay all my emotions."
I am truly excited to bring to this show some amazing and outstanding life stories from people that really overcame struggles in life.
Let's start with myself,
I am born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I have been living in the US for almost 12 years. Sometimes I can see myself as an "alien" more than a foreigner -- by myself away from my childhood friends and family so I sculpted a "human alien" and I named him L' Ètranger, which in french means, the foreigner.
I have struggled being a foreigner sometimes but I know I need to have a strong mind and a very positive attitude toward those feelings. Art helps me a lot. Every time I sculpt I put on the clay all my emotions. My hands are an extension, part of my brain, so I believe the "Alien" L'Ètranger represents all that. I really can see myself on that bust. He has such a strong-looking presence.
Also "Anak" in Hebrew means the Giant, he is a fighter in life and inside the ring. Enduring lots of struggles and hard times in life, combat sports helped him to overcome them.
La Guria, this girl has such an amazing life history. She moved to the US when she was very young from Puerto Rico, and she has been helping kids from all over the world teaching them a second language. Like the Alien, she is away from her country and she finds her strength in her job because it has a lot of meaning.
La Amargura - This is an incredible resine work that represents the sadness of a person that had so much struggle in life and always found a way out on his faith and on his daily physical activities, Amargura in Brazilian Portuguese means a state of deep sadness.
"La Garra" means the Russle, strength, strong portrait of someone that also came from a different nationality to live in America, strong attitude and personality makes him overcome the struggles and hard times he has in a place away from his family.