TOM CASMER: CON•STRUCTS

August 30 - DECEMBER 10, 2021

Richard and Barbara Basch Gallery

Few visual mediums fall outside the purview of Tom Casmer’s vision. Before joining the Ringling College illustration department in 2003, he had acquired a BA in Fine Arts with a minor in English Literature from Hamline University. Not satisfied with just the one artistic souvenir, he then earned a BFA in Illustration and Graphic Design from School of Associated Arts in his home state of Minnesota. His career includes stints in design groups, illustration studios, and corporate art departments.

Through it all, he displays his same self-proclaimed fascination with mechanical forms. “Machines, diagrams, schematics all entrance and confound me at the same time. While I cannot comprehend their inner workings, I find an inherent beauty in their structure. The shapes that I find underneath the skin and fabric of the world around me is the subject matter of my work.”

In “Con.structs,” Casmer explores his fascination with these themes in three dimensions and in yet another medium in his use of wood to sculpt the circuit-like blueprint illustrations he became known for. At times mimicking the building blocks of modern electronics, while at others evoking the geometric incisions of Mesoamerican peoples, Casmer invites viewers to bridge the gap between the organic and inorganic.

This exhibition runs through December 10, 2021. In-person viewings are free and open to the public Monday-Friday, 9am-3pm. The Basch Gallery is located at 2363 Bradenton Road, on the first floor of Thompson Academic Center.

This exhibition is made possible, in part by Community Foundation of Sarasota County, The Exchange, Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax revenues, Sarasota Herald Tribune Media Group, and WUSF Public Media