Lynn Cassinerio
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
b. 1958, San Francisco, California
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Betty Asher, Los Angeles, CA
Dawn Bennett, New York City, NY
Robert Blattner, RCA Columbia Pictures, Burbank, CA
Garth Clark, New York City, NY
Getty Foundation, San Francisco, CA
Sonny Kamm, Encino, CA
Barbara Lazaroff, Beverly Hills, CA
Ray Liotta, Los Angeles, CA
Metropolitan Theaters, Palm Springs, CA
Barry Meyer, Warner Brothers, Burbank, CA
Gail and Peter Ochs, Corona del Mar, CA
Linda Sullivan, Encino, CA
Thomas Tierny, Tustin, CA
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006-08 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2005 The Artful Teapot, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
2004 The Artful Teapot, Mint Museum of Craft and Design, Charlotte, NC
2003 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
The Artful Teapot: 20th Century Expressions from the Kamm Collection,
COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts, Napa, CA
Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach , CA
The George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic, Toronto, Canada
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL
1999-01 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1998 Contemporary Mosaics, Mill Valley Sculpture Garden, Mill Valley, CA
1997 Tantalizing Teapots, Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Hello Again, Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA
Feast on Art, Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
1994 FUNctional Work, Society for Contemporary Crafts, Pittsburgh, PA
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lynn Cassinerio assembles together chipped and cracked fragments of antique china, pottery, and figurines into constructions that tell a story. The secrets and compelling history of each time-worn bit are given new meaning with the artist's take on "memoryware," a popular form of American folk art from the early 1900s in which women affixed their keepsakes to containers. With her functional teapots, cookie jars, vases, and other sculptural pieces, Cassnerio continues this fanciful tradition of artistic narrative.
The artist has an extensive background in textiles and sculpted wall pieces. Her training as an artist began in seventh grade when she was sent to live in a convent for three years. One of the nuns had a giant ceramic studio, and Cassinerio spent most of her time there. A gift of a kiln a short time later cast her future in clay.
The most important influence on Lynn Cassinerio's artwork is the subject she happens to be teaching at the time in her hands-on children's art history class. "It could be Baroque, Asian, Old World Italian, or the art of the circus," explains Cassinerio, "but whatever the topic, that is where I focus all my creative energies in order to capture the true essence of the art theme."
With these shifting influences, she changes her materials. Grainy, dull green mortar binds together pieces with personal significance - the subdued tones, says Cassnerio, are contemplative and allow the importance of the individual tesserae to be fully appreciated. When evoking an entire culture or era, the overall impact of the piece is heightened with bright hues such as electric blue or magenta. Like the memoryware of old, the worn and broken pieces that Cassnerio uses in her work tell her story. But in a departure from the manner of thinking of the Victorian housewives who started this craft, Cassnerio's vibrant constructions offer a perspective that looks toward the future.
- Excerpt from the book, THE ART OF MOSAIC DESIGN, Rockport Publishers, 2002
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Betty Asher, Los Angeles, CA
Dawn Bennett, New York City, NY
Robert Blattner, RCA Columbia Pictures, Burbank, CA
Garth Clark, New York City, NY
Getty Foundation, San Francisco, CA
Sonny Kamm, Encino, CA
Barbara Lazaroff, Beverly Hills, CA
Ray Liotta, Los Angeles, CA
Metropolitan Theaters, Palm Springs, CA
Barry Meyer, Warner Brothers, Burbank, CA
Gail and Peter Ochs, Corona del Mar, CA
Linda Sullivan, Encino, CA
Thomas Tierny, Tustin, CA
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006-08 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2005 The Artful Teapot, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
2004 The Artful Teapot, Mint Museum of Craft and Design, Charlotte, NC
2003 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
The Artful Teapot: 20th Century Expressions from the Kamm Collection,
COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts, Napa, CA
Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach , CA
The George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic, Toronto, Canada
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL
1999-01 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1998 Contemporary Mosaics, Mill Valley Sculpture Garden, Mill Valley, CA
1997 Tantalizing Teapots, Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Hello Again, Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA
Feast on Art, Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
1994 FUNctional Work, Society for Contemporary Crafts, Pittsburgh, PA
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lynn Cassinerio assembles together chipped and cracked fragments of antique china, pottery, and figurines into constructions that tell a story. The secrets and compelling history of each time-worn bit are given new meaning with the artist's take on "memoryware," a popular form of American folk art from the early 1900s in which women affixed their keepsakes to containers. With her functional teapots, cookie jars, vases, and other sculptural pieces, Cassnerio continues this fanciful tradition of artistic narrative.
The artist has an extensive background in textiles and sculpted wall pieces. Her training as an artist began in seventh grade when she was sent to live in a convent for three years. One of the nuns had a giant ceramic studio, and Cassinerio spent most of her time there. A gift of a kiln a short time later cast her future in clay.
The most important influence on Lynn Cassinerio's artwork is the subject she happens to be teaching at the time in her hands-on children's art history class. "It could be Baroque, Asian, Old World Italian, or the art of the circus," explains Cassinerio, "but whatever the topic, that is where I focus all my creative energies in order to capture the true essence of the art theme."
With these shifting influences, she changes her materials. Grainy, dull green mortar binds together pieces with personal significance - the subdued tones, says Cassnerio, are contemplative and allow the importance of the individual tesserae to be fully appreciated. When evoking an entire culture or era, the overall impact of the piece is heightened with bright hues such as electric blue or magenta. Like the memoryware of old, the worn and broken pieces that Cassnerio uses in her work tell her story. But in a departure from the manner of thinking of the Victorian housewives who started this craft, Cassnerio's vibrant constructions offer a perspective that looks toward the future.
- Excerpt from the book, THE ART OF MOSAIC DESIGN, Rockport Publishers, 2002