James Casebere – 2019 Rome Prize

Contemporary artist and photographer James Casebere (Art MFA 79) has been named a recipient of the 2019 Rome Prize in the category for visual art.

The Rome Prize is awarded to individuals representing excellence in various fields, including ancient studies, design, landscape architecture and musical composition. The annual prize is issued by the American Academy in Rome (AAR), an Italian art research institute founded in 1894 that “supports innovative artists, writers and scholars living and working together in a dynamic international community,” according to the AAR website.

Casebere, who studied under famed conceptual artist and former CalArts educator John Baldessari, is known for creating photo series of scenes from various materials, including paper and architectural models. Themes of “social control, social structure and the mythologies that surround particular institutions” dominate his catalogue of haunting yet simple table-sized constructions, according to a Sean Kelly Gallery artist profile. Casebere’s early work is often associated with the ’80s postmodern artistic movement, and largely inspired by art history, film and architecture. He is also known for colorful photographs of sleek architectural forms sitting atop water, as well as flooded models.