Levi Casias
Artist Statement
My artwork moves in between vessel making, sculptural wall work, body castings, installations and performance pieces. My primary medium is clay, both fired and unfired. I also use a variety of other materials such as glaze and paint, plaster and cement, wax and encaustic, wood and found objects.
The mystical, the numinous, and the unexplainable are the subjects that preoccupy my artwork. Cosmology, existentialism, and Catholicism in all its manifestations also play an underlying role in my work.
Intuitive thinking and making have dominated my art processes. As I draw, render, wax, or manipulate the surfaces of the material, I am, in a sense, having a dialog with it. There is no audience at this moment, but solely a maker and his objects. My choice of materials and intuitive way of working is then communicated to the viewer to elicit physical and emotional responses.
Artist Bio
Levi Casias was born and raised in Southwest Colorado. He attended Colorado State University majoring in pottery and sculpture. He studied under Richard DeVore and Ken Hendry (pottery), and Gary Voss (sculpture). Upon graduating with a dual B.F.A., he moved to Southern California with his wife Anita. He received his M.F.A. in ceramics under Joanne Hayakawa and Richard Burkett. He also studied abroad in Cortona, Italy under Tony Marsh from Cal State Long Beach. This time made a lasting impact on his work and life, and he continues to create work influenced by that developmental period.