Where Fantasy Meets Reality: Unveiling the Captivating Art of Payanes Enrique Castrillón Fossi

His reference is Vincent van Gogh, an influence that can be seen in his painting from a more modern perspective.

By Aura Isabel Olano Correa

The gate, although it is similar to the rest of the residences in that beautiful parcel, north of Popayán, has a special seal, that of an artist, who not only paints on canvas, metal, leather, wood and any surface you can think of. , but also the doors, like the entrance door and most of the furniture in the house, have been manufactured or transformed into works of art, with details, very subtle ones that are discovered little by little with wonder and the curiosity of a child, as it happened to us, when we had allowed the newspaper La Campana to visit him in his magical home and workshop.

Enrique Castrillón Fossi was waiting for us, next to his wife, Ofelia Camacho, whom he met at the School of Fine Arts, in the traditional neighborhood of La Candelaria in Bogotá, in the 80s, when they were students of important teachers. 22 years ago they returned to Popayán. “I had to do it, because this city means my childhood memories and my family.”

The artist Enrique Castrillón Fossi’s workshop.

His grandfather, Hipólito Castrillón Mosquera, was one of the first students of the School of Painting, attached to the University of Cauca, together with Efraím Martínez, José Vicente Rivera, Antonio M. Tafur, Arturo Aragón and Hernando Arboleda, students of the teacher Emilio Porcet. He chose Hipólito Castrillón, a watercolorist who combined with private businesses and contributed to Martínez, the author of Apotheosis of Popayán, which is in the auditorium of the University of Cauca, to specialize in Europe. To thank him, he gave him the famous work La Cardotyn, which belongs to the family Castrillón.

Castrillón Fossi expresses himself artistically in a different way, he makes the most of color, his theme is between the fantastic and the real, when he discovers a new color, he tries to include it in his work . He uses acrylic, he also works with oil glaze and charcoal.

The horse, sculpted in cedar. The body of this statue, with new figures, retains a number of secret drawers.

Having recently graduated from Art School, he exhibited several times in Bogotá, but stopped doing so for almost 40 years; He locked himself to painting, because he felt he needed time and tranquility to research and create; At the time his production was prolific. He had the support of his family. While he painted, Ofelia practiced her profession as a bacteriologist; today, retired, he took up his brushes again.

After such a long pause without showing his work to the public, Castrillón Fossi exhibited during Holy Week in Popayán 2024, at Casa Arte, where the artist, María Stella Perafán Simmonds, has hosted local artists. Castrillón’s work was liked for its originality, although there is a specific influence on Vincent van Gogh’s painting, but with a more modern concept.

Details of the figures painted on the horse can be seen.

He is also a sculptor, especially in wood. From his father-in-law, Jorge Camacho, who worked with this material, he not only received instructions, he also left him the instrument, and he began to sculpt one of his most valuable and most special creations: the horse, craftsman. a process of six or seven months, which he begins with a thin block of cedar which he distributes into planks; From there, he makes the molds, cuts the wood and assembles it, it’s a different kind of woodworking, it’s not traditional. The body of that statue houses a series of drawers, like the secretary’s desk, a classic French style piece of furniture. The horse’s face has many figures painted in bright colors. He gave two of those copies to his sons, Pablo and Camilo.

A Japanese style frame that separates the social area from the rooms, like a sliding door, made of parchment and painted with beautiful flowers.

Wood has been a solution for having utilitarian objects in your home and, at the same time, it is fun that goes back to your childhood, from the objects you wanted to make, with secret drawers to store things that no one would find. In the wood he sculpts traditional games, such as the spinning top, dice, cards.

In the kitchen, the cupboard door is very special, the silhouettes of coffee makers, cups, plates, jugs, teapots and other utensils are sculpted in the wood. The pub and the cabinets are also his work.

A metal table, a large daisy on it with images of some objects, such as cards, cups, dice, pencil, pen…, there are more details to discover in this painting.

Art is everything in Enrique and Ofelia’s residence. The gaze is lost among utilitarian objects, sculptures and paintings; The visitor can spend hours discovering, with surprise, many details in the work of this master, many subtle, such as a fine writing pen, on the dining room table, a design that occurred to him at the time of finishing with paint. The ideas rise step by step.

From a very young age he only wanted to paint, that was the only thing he did during his school days, and that is why he went through almost all of Popayán’s schools, from which he dropped out when he was declared indiscipline, because of pencils and colors distracted him from his academic obligations, as well as caricatures of his teachers, which 50 or 60 years ago was considered a serious offense and expulsion had no appeal.

The house was built about 10 years ago, as a result, all doors, windows, tables, lamps, toilets, beds, have been designed and made by this master, a work that has taken him several years, he is also recycles and transforms furniture, as requested.

A small still life, one centimeter, in a 3 centimeter square frame, a great work of art.

How do you transform one object into another? For example, that door he found during the demolition of a house in Popayán, which after three years turned into a window, from which he can see the sea, a subject he is now obsessed with, so much so that he wants to do so . capture the Pacific. He estimates that in six months or a year, he will have a new exhibition, which will include great still lifes.

The atmosphere of this home is pleasant, conducive to creativity. It is surrounded by nature, at the back of the house, separated by a garden, is the workshop, not only for painting, but also for sculpture, it is another world. If the artist gets an idea, he stops painting, opens his woodworking shop and designs new objects.

An antique clock decorated with various figures in cheerful colours.

“A lot of my art is handmade, before entering Art School I made leather objects, then I worked in stained glass, I’ve always had the desire to make art with the objects I find, recycle and turn into something useful.”

He also paints on metal, he doesn’t see the difference when doing it on different surfaces, for him it’s the same to hold his stroke on an easel on canvas, glass or on a table, the medium doesn’t matter, what it is looking for the opportunity to paint on something, as if it were a painting.

In Castrillón’s work there is some influence on the painting of Vincent van Gogh, but with a more modern concept.

In the decoration of this great artist’s house, there is a frame that separates the social area from the rooms, like a sliding door, made of parchment and painted with beautiful flowers in the Japanese style, a culture that is always caught his attention. He says they have those partitions in traditional houses in Japan, on light paper, and he thought it was practical for that part of his home.

For 10 years he was responsible for the Art Academy of the Campestre Americano school in Popayán, where he guided children towards creativity, in the same way as he would have wanted to learn when he was a child.

Castrillón Camacho family furniture is built by the artist, sculptor and craftsman. Pictured is the dining room.

“I did a positive job, students of all ages attended, from nursery to 11th grade. I didn’t teach them technique, but to express themselves however they wanted. If someone didn’t know how to paint, if they made a black spot, for me it was valid, because in the future they weren’t going to paint, instead, their creativity would have been awakened, which is often goes unnoticed. From 4 to 12 years of age, the brain receives more information and awakens the imagination, therefore, as professions, they will be creative, doctors, for example, will carry out new techniques, architects will design new projects. I talk to those who were my students at the Campestre school, who are now professionals, and they feel that the artistic part is very positive.”

Nature made art in this wooden still life.

Currently teaching children in her workshop, she starts with acrylics, because it is a paint with consistency, which allows them to do many things. At first he does not instruct them in the techniques, but in the way they can use the paint. He doesn’t act like the teacher who knows everything. It becomes another tool, just like the brush, paint or glass of water that the child uses, and when he needs it, he solves his doubts. “That’s a way not to limit creativity, because each person has to figure out how to express themselves.”

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