The College of the Canyons Art Gallery presents the exhibition “Carolyn Castaño: Delineando un Paisaje Femenio – Outlining a Female Landscape” just in time for National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Running Monday, Aug. 19 – Thursday, Oct. 10, the solo exhibition includes Castaño’s recent paintings, drawings, mixed media and videos highlighting her ongoing exploration of identity, gender and social conditions facing women.

A free public lecture by the Los Angeles-based artist is scheduled 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10, followed by a reception for the artist from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

“I feel very fortunate to be able to introduce our students and campus community to this wonderful artist,” Art Gallery Director Pamela Bailey Lewis said. “Two of my main goals as a curator for a campus-based art gallery are to bring the most compelling art of our time to campus so our students will have the opportunity to engage with it first-hand; and to create relevant, inspiring programming that reflects and supports the diverse communities we are here to serve. This exhibition does both those things.”

A Colombian-American, Castaño draws inspiration from her bi-cultural identity and explores themes and images that originate in Latin and Central America with a particular emphasis on how gender and ecological concerns play out in regional conflicts, narco-trafficking, and post-colonial struggle.

Making connections across cultures, places, and female experiences, Castaño is known for her powerful layering of multiple visual traditions, including Pre-Columbian and indigenous textiles, popular media, formalism, 20th century graphic design, and early 19th century botanical drawings.

“By putting abstractions and patterns on the same plane as traditionally painted landscapes I hope to not just capture the historical simultaneity of cultures and ecosystems, but also a sense of their possible futures,” said Castaño, who is the first Latina artist to have a solo exhibition at the gallery.

The College of the Canyons Art Gallery is open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Those unable to visit the gallery during normal hours are welcome to contact the gallery to schedule a viewing appointment. All gallery exhibitions and related events are free and open to the public.