Artist Statement

I am an American acrylic and mixed media artist who creates highly textured substrates using layered or cradled panels, molding paste, collage, paint, and other objects and mediums. My work is best described as ‘mystical realism’ in which I combine my love of rich and iridescent colors with designs I create from influences such as illuminated manuscripts, Islamic tilework, indigenous tribes from around the world, and from Catholic ceremony.

My work has been heavily influenced impacted by my strict religious upbringing as well as my love of the landscape and nature. I was always attracted to illuminated manuscripts, religious icons and spiritual symbolism. With a focus on metaphor, spiritualism, and a connection to my higher self, as well as a deep attraction to the natural world, the art I am now producing has largely shifted towards a more accurate portrayal of who I am today.

My recent work is an artistic homage I pay to my mother and my aunts and their knowledge and love of fabrics and sewing. Many of the designs printed on those fabrics have become patterns in my work, such as in the “Portals” series. In order to create my current textural and complex work, I often marry those now-vintage fabric motifs with the iridescent colors reminiscent of the religious pageantry of my youth as well as those derived from ancient cultures.

Nancy White Cassidy