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Poetter Hall was purchased by the SCAD founders in March 1979. Classes began in September of that year.  
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The Arts

Painter brings ‘Magic’ to SCAD

“Girl in Red”

“Girl in Red” by Patricio Castilla is on display at Pei Ling Chan through Jan. 15 - Feb. 17.

By Hannah Pittard
Published: Friday, January 9, 2004

 I first heard about the Chilean painter Patricio Castilla two months ago when I was sent a disk of his images and handed a press release communicating the dates of his upcoming exhibition at SCAD, “The Magic of Light.” It was not with any sort of inexplicable premonition or great enthusiasm that I opened the disk and looked at the images. In retrospect, however, it should have been. Since October, I have had a small but choice selection of Castilla’s paintings on a 30-minute rotation as the background on my desktop.

While some might argue that the use of a Castilla painting as the background image on a computer corrupts its loveliness and value, I would suggest that my desire to see the artist’s images eight hours a day and my unceasing interest in them after more than three months’ time are indication less of a corruption and proof more of the paintings’ inherent power.

The majority of the paintings on display in “The Magic of Light” focus on images of the sea, and many paintings include a lone figure with her back to the viewer, immediately recognizable from one painting to the next for her long black braid. “G.,” as the female figure is called, is said to be Castilla’s companion and source of inspiration. But G.’s presence alone is not responsible for the magic of Castilla’s paintings because in the several pieces from which she is absent the same power exists — whether she has been replaced by a line of sheets as in “Balcony, Sheets” or by a Boston Terrier as in “Beach, Dog.”

Castilla worked for many years as a successful director of cinematography for films and documentaries in Chile, Cuba and Europe. In 1996, he decided to devote himself entirely to his passion, painting. He paints with precision and in minute detail, using light as a middling tool to delineate configurations and shadows for a dramatic and lyrical effect.

“The Magic of Light” is on display at Pei Ling Chan, 322 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Jan. 15 -- Feb. 17.