1940–

Gertrude Tara-Casciano was working in the Art Department at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway when she first learned about the Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Three of her drawings were chosen to be exhibited in A Personal Statement at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock in the fall of 1991. Juror and The New York Times art editor Grace Cluck selected Tara-Casiano as one of 10 artists to exhibit at NMWA in Washington, D.C., in March 1992.

“The announcement was made during the opening reception at the Arkansas Arts Center,” said Tara-Casciano. “I was thrilled and honored to be included in both exhibitions, and it has been the highlight of my career.”

Tara-Casciano traveled to Washington for the opening reception and said she was surprised and delighted to discover that her drawing Transparent Idea had been used for the poster advertising the exhibition.

“The opening was wonderful,” she said. “I will never forget how honored I felt to be part of the group from Arkansas!”

In describing her work from the 1991-92 exhibitions, Tara-Casciano wrote, “My sculptural work reflects an interest in exploring the expressive potential of color and shape in three-dimensional form. Works are produced in an intuitive manner in response to media, change and the unfolding of structure. As a work progresses, it begins to reveal a narrative that is developed and supported through the use of color.

“My drawings reflect similar interests in two dimensions,” she continued. “They offer a relief from the physical involvement required in the construction of sculpture. Two-dimensional solutions eventually find their way into the sculpture and often suggest new avenues of three-dimensional exploration. My work, whether sculpture or drawing, deals with abstracted figures in settings of confinement or protection. I see these settings as the containers for events that separate us from each other. The events or situations take place inside tangible walls. They are the metaphors for definitions which limit us to the boundaries of our ideas and beliefs. I wish to examine and question the boundaries and the definitions, clarifying them and making apparent their existence.

“The impact on my career from the exhibition was substantial,” said Tara-Casciano. “I have been included in many exhibitions since that time, received many awards and also sold work as a result of this exposure.”

Tara-Casciano is a native of Buffalo, N.Y., and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a bachelor’s degree in 1983 and a master’s in art in 1986. She then earned a master’s in fine art from Memphis State University in 1987. She began working at UCA in 1989, lecturing on art appreciation and the study of color and two-dimensional design and serving as the department’s slide collection manager and gallery coordinator for the Baum Gallery of Fine Art during its first year of operation.

Since retiring from UCA in 1996, she has continued working as an artist and is included in the Arkansas Arts Council’s Juried Artist Registry.

“My greatest challenge now is trying to keep up with advances in technology,” she said. “I don’t especially care for working on computers.”

Since 2013, she has faced significant health challenges, including surgery for lung cancer, a quadruple bypass and a knee replacement. Her advice to other artists working with pastels is to wear gloves and a mask.

“I’ve survived and continue to do some drawing, leaving behind the abstracted figures and instead drawing landscapes and trees, reminiscent of the forest behind my childhood home and my present home,” said Tara-Casciano. “I also stay quite busy with my family, children and grandchildren. I’ve returned to an early love of sewing, and my latest exploration is fiber art.”