Shaina Kasztelan

Shaina Kasztelan is an American artist living and working in Detroit, MI. Kasztelan has exhibited artwork in a variety of settings, from homes to streets to galleries and museums, questioning how art is viewed in different contexts. Her work explores themes such as feminism/identity, internet youth culture and American consumerism. Combining humor, nostalgia and psychedelic subject matter through painting, sculpture and site specific installation, Kasztelan creates a hyper saturated maximalist landscape which is overwhelmingly cute with a rebellious dark side. Utilizing non-traditional art making material, she examines the boundary between high and low art using altered kitsch found objects and displaying them in traditional formats such as paintings on canvas and sculptures on pedestals. The materials she works with are a carefully calculated assortment of used children’s toys sourced from local second hand shops, commercially mass-produced items, synthetic beauty products and heavily printed manufactured fabric. By using these heavily processed materials along with culturally relevant imagery, Kasztelan builds an intensely saturated faux-environment with a fantasy narrative for her audience to explore in their own psyche.