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, ancient cultures, and religions from around the world. 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 from landscapes and other traditional subjects towards a more accurate portrayal of who I am today.

I generally work intuitively, often with just a vague idea of the direction I would like my work to take, during which I will work in a semi-meditative, or alpha, state. It is within this state that I allow my work to dictate the direction it will go, rather than my being overly proactive in taking control of the process.

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. 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