Kate Casanova Returns to Fungi in New Studio Practice
Denver-based artist Kate Casanova, who teaches at the University of Denver, has revisited her fascination with fungi in her recent creations. Renowned for her sculptures that incorporate mushrooms, she started cultivating them during her Master of Fine Arts program at the University of Minnesota. Her latest work, 'Me and also me' (2024), combines glass blowing with a variety of materials. In 2022, her 'Gut Feeling' series was showcased at Yi Gallery in Brooklyn, expressing bodily sensations through mixed media. Additionally, she has developed the 'Deepskin' series (2021) and is working on the 'Metabodies' series. Casanova's investigation into 'post-human' themes highlights the body's alien qualities, and she has been growing fungi in her studio, as featured in Southwest Contemporary with images by Carl Bower.
Key facts
- Kate Casanova is a Denver-based sculptor and professor/director at the University of Denver's School of Art and Art History.
- She gained acclaim for mushroom-infused sculptures created while studying for an MFA at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
- Her early works included cultivating mushrooms on thrift store chairs and a 1976 AMC Pacer.
- She has returned to fungi in her current practice after a period of abstraction.
- Her 'Gut Feeling' series was exhibited at Yi Gallery in Brooklyn in 2022.
- She incorporates glass blowing into her work, as seen in 'Me and also me' (2024).
- She uses the term 'post-human' to refer to the alien nature of the human body, not AI.
- Her studio includes a mushroom grow chamber and she has grown mushrooms through glass pieces.
Entities
Artists
- Kate Casanova
Institutions
- University of Denver
- University of Minnesota
- Yi Gallery
- Southwest Contemporary
Locations
- Denver
- Minneapolis
- Brooklyn