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William Shakespeare observed, “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves.” So it was with Aldo Casanova. He was, once upon a time, a math major aspiring to become a chemist. Ultimately, however, Casanova answered to a much more powerful calling…that of the artist within—fulfilling his quite apparent destiny as a world-renowned sculptor, whose body of work comments on both the political and environmental condition of the planet.
Italian by heritage, Californian by birth, Aldo Casanova was born in San Francisco in 1929. By the age of six, he was a frequent visitor to his father’s garage, spending hours at the workbench where he was allowed to use hand tools and “make stuff” to his heart’s content, as long as he put everything away. Ivory soap carvings and totem pole woodcarvings—among other creations—followed. It was in grammar school that Casanova earned his first “official” praise for a model of the 1939 San Francisco World’s Fair. And, although he’d long planned on a career in chemistry, Casanova’s high school counselor urged him to follow his artistic talents. With the blessing and unyielding support of his parents, he was off to study art at San Francisco State University.
Casanova received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at San Francisco State. And at the age of just 22, he was teaching beginning art courses. After two years, in 1953, Casanova was driving across the country to earn his Ph.D. at Ohio State University. At the same time, he accepted a professor - ship at nearby Antioch College in Ohio.
At Home in Rome
It was in Ohio, while finishing his doctorate, that Casanova decided to apply for the prestigious Rome Prize, a fellowship that enables winners to work at the American Academy in Rome. He won the honor, which included an all expenses-paid, three-year residency within what he terms, a “magnificently creative and collaborative community” of sculptors, painters, architects, composers and writers.
“I felt completely at home,” says Casanova, who was charmed by the country of his forefathers. Not only did he possess a perfect command of the language, Casanova was surrounded by a virtually infinite expanse of art history, one of his greatest passions. While in Rome, he also began a series of bronze owls, taking his inspiration from a pet owl left in Casanova’s care by a departing artist. “I figured that if the owl subject was good enough for Picasso,” he adds, “it was good enough for me.”
Upon returning to the U.S., Casanova accepted a professorship at Temple University in Philadelphia, during which time he held three exhibitions—in San Francisco, Philadelphia and Boston—showcasing work he had produced while in Rome. The shows resulted in a Best of Show Award at the Woodmere Art Gallery in Philadelphia, along with two of his owl sculptures being acquired; one by the Ford Motor Company in Detroit, and another by the San Francisco Museum of Modern
Art. Not long afterward he was on his way back to the American Academy in Rome, this time for a two-year stint as a visiting artist. (Casanova would return to Rome four times for a total of eight years, each time with his own studio at the Academy.)
“I began teaching at Scripps College in 1966,” continues Casanova, noting that he felt an affinity for their philosophy of hiring artists who taught, rather than teachers who were also artists. “They didn’t want us to be part-time creators,” he says. “Instead, they wanted us to bring prestige to the school through our work. And, by choosing to teach sculpture, I was able to strike the ideal balance between earning a living and working in my studio. I never went commercial. My work is extremely personal.”
Characterizing his style as “pure Aldo intuition,” Casanova nevertheless approaches his work in a traditional manner. With a strong belief in the “eternal endurance of Mother Nature,” Casanova takes much of his inspiration from the natural beauty of his native California. He then heads to the drawing board to create a series of drawings that capture the flow, feeling and form of his subject matter. Casanova is also a strong believer in producing work in materials that endure, such as the use of bronze, which dominates his work. In addition, he uses plaster and wax (which are preliminary materials before casting in bronze), as well as wood, stone and clay, depending on appropriateness to the theme and his vision for the sculpture.
“The environment plays a part in everything I do,” says Casanova. “Nature holds the clues to our existence. For example how can you behold the incredible beauty of an orchid and not believe there isn’t something bigger out there? My work is an attempt to transmit the beauty of nature. It’s purely inspirational.”
To that end, Casanova’s body of work ranges from mushrooms, owls, skulls, scarabs and relics, to armored rhinos, warriors and earth forms. His sculptures grace the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institute’s National Air and Space Museum, Washing ton, D.C.; National Academy of Design, New York; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York ….to name a few.
His works are also in many public and institutional collections including the American Academy in Rome, Italy; California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California; Stanford Research Institute at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Casanova’s work may be seen locally at Scripps College, the Keck Science Center of the Claremont Colleges, Montgomery Gallery at Pomona College, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Mt. San Antonio Gardens retirement community and the Claremont Museum of Fine Art.
Retired…To Work
Casanova taught sculpture at Scripps for more than three decades, during which time he returned to the American Academy in Rome twice, as a visiting artist from 1968 to 1970, and as Sculptor-in-Residence in 1975. Following his retirement from Scripps in1999, Casanova was subsequently honored for his legacy as a teacher and his contributions as an artist through a retrospective exhibition of his work at the Williamson Galleries of Scripps College.
For Casanova, now Professor Emeritus at Scripps and a 43- year resident of Claremont, retirement has meant more time to commune with nature and to devote to his work at his longtime studio in Montclair. He also continues to add to the long list of awards honoring his work. Most recently, Casanova’s bronze “Sky Emblem” was awarded the Gold Medal for Sculpture in the California Art Club’s 98th Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibition. He also received the Silver Medal–John Cavanaugh Memorial Prize for “Mountain Skull/Lynx” in the current 76th Annual Exhibition of the National Sculpture Society in New York.
To maintain his energy as well as his health, Casanova attends hour-long Aqua Fit classes at least twice a week at the Claremont Club. “The pool is a great way to exercise muscles without putting pressure on your joints,” he says. “It also provides a great low-impact cardio workout.”
Casanova, who turned 80 in February, adds, “I feel incredibly fortunate and would do it all again! I want to be the ‘Johnny Appleseed’ of sculpture…leaving behind bronzes instead of trees.”
Considering his distinguished sculptural achievements, Aldo Casanova seems destined to realize his desire.
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