Members of the Prep Community Spend an Evening with Painter Jordan Casteel

The idea to host an art event centered around the work of Jordan Casteel came to Prep for Prep CEO Ruth Jurgensen while visiting Akili Tommasino (XXI) at The Metropolitan Museum of Art where he is the associate curator of modern and contemporary art. Standing in front of Jordan’s paintings, “it was like looking in a mirror,” said Ruth. Jordan’s portraits of strangers on the train, acquaintances in parking garages, and her students in their homes are meant to be personal. “I have no vision but to be present with someone,” said Jordan. 

In collaboration with the Hill Art Foundation, Prep alumni, staff, board members, and donors were invited to join in conversation with Akili and Jordan in the galleries of the Hill Art Foundation. The evening began with opening remarks by Dr. Jonathan Holloway, president of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. He met Jordan when she became an assistant professor at Rutgers. 

Throughout the course of the evening, Jordan shared her goals as an artist, which are to show the breadth of humanity, bring the periphery into focus, and engage with her community. Jordan also gave attendees a glimpse into her process. When someone agrees to sit for her, she doesn’t begin with a large canvas between them. “I want to know the people and I want the people to know me.” Camera in hand, Jordan will take several photographs and have a conversation with her sitter. It is important for her to maintain relationships with the people she paints. She does her best to keep them informed about the status of the painting they sat for at all times. Having them see the finished work is “one of the greatest joys of my life,” she said. 

Although Jordan has experienced success with her work, she concedes that she too can experience imposter syndrome. Even getting into the Yale School of Art, she didn’t think, “I’ve made it!” Not even after graduating. After graduate school, she decided to give herself a year in New York City. It was finally when she had her first exhibition, Visible Man, at Sargent’s Daughter, that she thought it could be possible to make a living off of her artwork. Even in moments of doubt, she makes sure to go to the studio every day. There was a time when all she really wanted was a studio with a window, and now she has it! Remembering all that she has to be grateful for helps her in those moments. 

Jordan has participated in exhibitions worldwide, including the New Museum in New York, the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Kunsthal KAdE in Amersfoort, Netherlands. She received her bachelor’s degree in studio art from Agnes Scott College and an MFA in painting and printmaking from Yale School of Art. She is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. You can follow her on instagram at @jordanmcasteel.

We greatly appreciate Dr. Jonathan Holloway, Akili Tommasino (XXI), and Jordan Casteel for sharing their time with us, and we are grateful to the Hill Art Foundation for hosting this event.