Castiglia’s paintings are monochromatic tableaux examining life, death, and the human condition. While many surrealists cite fantasy or dreams as their inspiration, Castiglia’s canvases are connected to a life story which is highly allegorical.

The archetypal figures in Castiglia’s work embody the finitude of human existence. The viewer is presented with the symbiosis of birth and death. The images themselves, as he sees them, form as crystallizations of his experiences, freed from the psyche; the viewer is not only allowed to see into the figure, but also through it, into a deeper psychological world.