About:
Isabella Nicastro is a contemporary Canadian painter based in Toronto, Ontario. Currently completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at OCAD University. Working primarily in painting, photography, and text, her works place emphasis on concepts of lived experience, the perception of self, familial relations, spirituality and religion, and everyday rituals associated with the home environment using depictions of traditional still-life and portraiture through a contemporary lens. Her work has been featured in exhibitions and private collections locally in Toronto and Vaughan, as well as internationally in London, England.
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Upcoming Exhibitions:
2024 "Intersections: Threads of Tradition and Identity" (juried), Cloverdale Commons, Etobicoke, ON.
2024 "Expressions" (juried), Art Space Connect Gallery, Toronto, ON.
Select Group Exhibitions:
2024 "Land, Sea, and Sky" (juried), collaborative virtual exhibition with OCAD U and international partner institutions, Toronto, ON.
2024 "Homebound" (co-curator & participant), collaborative virtual exhibition with OCAD U and international partner institutions, Toronto, ON.
2024 "Milk and Honey", Brixton Tate Library, London, EN.
2024 "Coalesce", Copeland Gallery, London, EN.
2024 "OCAD U Showcase" (juried) Partial Gallery online platform), Toronto, ON.
2023 "A Breathing Room For the Spirit" (juried), MCA OCAD University, Toronto, ON.
2022 "The First Self-Portrait: Cultural Appropriation", MCA OCAD University, Toronto, ON.
2022 "Introduction to B&W Film", MCA OCAD University, Toronto, ON.
2019 "Visual Arts Exhibition", J.E.H MacDonald House, Thornhill, ON.
2018 "Night at the Salon", YCDSB Centre for the Arts, Thornhill, ON.
Grants and Awards:
2024 Frances Lea Ziegler Memorial Scholarship, Toronto, ON.
2024 OCAD University CEAD Career Launcher Award with Partial Gallery, Toronto, ON.
2023 Kendra Jaal McCleskey Memorial Bursary, Toronto, ON.
2023 St George's Society of Toronto Bursary in Art and Design, Toronto, ON.
2021 OCAD University TSA Bursary, Toronto, ON.
Publications:
2024 "Milk and Honey" Exhibition Zine, Lambeth Library Readers and Writers Festival, London, EN.
2022-2023 Journal of Visual and Critical Studies, JVCS OCAD University, Toronto, ON.
Collections:
Works held in private collections in Vaughan, Toronto, and Halton Region.
Artist Talks:
2023 "Life and Relationships in the Domestic Space", Professional Practice Course OCAD University, Toronto, ON.
Juror Experience:
2023-2024 Juror, APEX Art International Open Call For Exhibitions, New York City, USA.
2024 Juror, "Homebound", Online Exhibition, Toronto, ON.
Relevant Experience:
Visual Arts Instructor, The Creative Child, Toronto, ON.
Community Manager (internship), helloart, Toronto, ON.
Publicity and Invigilation for "Coalesce", Copeland Gallery, London, EN.
Publicity, Publication, and Installation for "Milk and Honey", Brixton Tate Library, London, EN.
Visual Arts Instructor, Alla Breve Academy of Music and Arts, Vaughan, ON.
Visual Arts Instructor/ Counsellor, Camp Byng, Robert's Creek, BC.
Editor, Journal of Visual and Critical Studies, Toronto, ON.