| This New Orleans-born artist was trained at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. In addition to being a practicing artist, Cassandra currently teaches at The Arts Center, St. Petersburg, Florida. SELECTED SOLO & 2-PERSON(*) SHOWS Centro Ecuatoriano Notreamericano, Guayaquil, Ecuador,1980 St. Johns University Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, 1982 Hollander Gallery, Guayaquil, Ecuador, 1980 Pachacamac Gallery, Quito, Ecuador, 1982 Gallery One, Coconut Grove, FL, 1986 Anna Sklar Gallery, Bal Harbour, FL, 1986 DeMayo Gallery, Guayaquil Ecuador, 1989-91 Synthesis Fine Arts, Tampa, FL, 1999 Mahaffey Theatre, St. Petersburg, Fl, 2000 Avalon Island Gallery, Orlando, FL, 2002(*) JURIED & INVITATIONAL SHOWS Santa Fe Armory for the Arts, Santa Fe, NM, 1984 Santa Fe Festival of the Arts, La Fonda Hotel, Santa Fe, NM, 1981-90 Fuller Art Lodge, Los Alamos, NM, 1985 Minot Art Gallery, North Dakota State Fair, Minot, ND, 1985 Gallery of Fine Arts, New Mexico State Fair, Albuquerque, NM, 1985 Museum of Contemporary Arts, Miami Beach, FL, 1986 Home Design Show, Tallahassee, Fl, 1987 Art Alive!, Longboat Key, Fl, 1998* Alliance for the Arts, Faces of New Millennium, Ft. Meyers, Fl, 2000* Temple Beth-el Art Festival, St. Petersburg, Fl, 2002,2001,2002* Much to do About Art, American Stage Theatre at Salt Creek Galleries, St. Petersburg, Fl, 2000 and 2001* St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts, Women in the Arts St. Petersburg Fl 2000 The Arts Center “12 Cubed” St. Petersburg Fl 2000 Museum of Fine Arts 2nd Annual Women in Art St. Petersburg FL 2001 Pulcheria 2001 International Women in Art Piacenza Italy 2001* The Big Art Center Gallery Sanibel Island FL 2002 ARTIST STATEMENT I have recently completed two series of new paintings. Both are an important statement of life and the times in which we live. My thrust has always been working with color line and design to create an exploration of human emotions and sentiments. I have always used the female form as a vehicle to carry the conception of emotional pathos to canvas. Merlin the Magician told King Arthur that we all live on the spine of the dragon (the earth). The Dragon Series is therefore a series of painting reflecting that concept. I use abstracted palm fronds and spiraling stones to represent the organic and inorganic aspects of the dragon. The women in my painting represent the emotional bonds of this interrelationship. The Fragility Series deals with the human condition. The shelf represents a plane of existence. Within each of our lives we create such a plane where we can imagine we are safe and untouched by the events of the world. Surrounding us is chaos. The hieroglyphics in the background (also used in the Dragon series) are my own creation adapted from runes taken from ancient Peru and the Goddess Culture as well as petroglyphs from the Southwestern US. This represents “the writing on the wall” information and instructions available to us but which we do not understand. My work always has been a personal explorations of human emotions. Using the female figure as a vehicle I attempt to capture a moment in time. The deep richness of bold colors movement in design and a hard line helps to strengthen and broaden the feelings created in my paintings. I have been told my work is too strong to soften the eyes. But the eyes are focus which draws the viewer to the other aspects of the work inviting them into further introspection. I have always felt that women are the architects of our civilization and are more aware of the deep seated feelings and strengths of the inner self that we only occasionally allow to shine through. One thing I always try to convey in my work no matter is the feeling of the painting is light or dark is a sense of hope. An innate strength of character to overcome and go forward with life. |