Stephen Kasner's paintings, drawings, photographs and mixed media works reflect visions of a pre-apocalyptic, dream saturated landscape. These are delicate, momentarily illuminated struggles for the survival of our personal identities, granting value to our own human spirits. His works reach deeply into us, seeking individual hope and glimmers of enlightenment. 

 

The paintings and works of Stephen Kasner have been exhibited worldwide. His work has been featured in group and solo exhibitions in Cleveland, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, Berlin, and extensively in Australia through the touring exhibition, “Fantastic & Visionary Art”, included alongside such luminaries as Ernst Fuchs, Alex Grey, and H.R. Giger. Articles on his life and work have been published in international journals including, Coilhouse, Vice Magazine, Art Alternatives, The Washington Post, Seconds Magazine, and LINK: A Critical Journal on the Arts in Baltimore and the World. 

 

Kasner has contributed his work to support community institutions including Caritas: Cleveland AIDS Care Unit, The American Heart Association, and the Survivors of Suicide Support Group, among others. He is currently involved in fostering Art Therapy sessions in Cleveland, working with clients dealing with various forms of psychological and domestic traumas and abuse, PTSD, depression, and recovery services as a licensed drug counselor in the State of Ohio. Most recently his work was included extensively in the feature film, The Devil’s Candy (2017), directed by Sean Byrne and produced by Snoot Films (distributed by IFC Midnight in the United States). 

 

Recently returning to his native hometown after a six year residence in Northern California, Stephen Kasner currently lives and works in Cleveland, Ohio. Kasner's paintings continue to expand upon the examination of the values of the human spirit against the often stark brutalities of nature, both the purely organic and manmade. His iconographic use of figures, birds, fauna & flora translate into symbols of determination of an inner, personal, individual and simultaneously universal emotional cosmos.