ROXANA CASILLAS

About

Bio

Born in Mexico City in 1964, sculptor Roxana Casillas developed a love for sculpture at 15. After graduating from SDSU in 1989, she taught art in Los Angeles. She moved to Pietrasanta, Italy, immersing herself in sculpting for 15 years, apprenticing for important sculptors, taught by master marble and bronze artisans and completing significant commissions. Her 1995 marble sculpture of Our Lady of Guadalupe marked her breakthrough, leading to more, like "The Stations of the Cross," with 210 marble figures, and "A Tribute to Woody Herman," a bronze statue. Roxana showcased her work across Europe and represented the U.S. in Project Giotto during the 2001 G8 summit in Genoa. Returning to the U.S., she founded her studio and continues sculpting for museums, galleries, and public and private clients. Currently residing in Palm Springs, California, Roxana's artistic journey persists, enriched by her remarkable international training.

"I aim to invite audiences into a profound exploration of self, inspiring them to redefine their identities and embrace transformative change."

Born in Mexico City, 1964.
Lives in Palm Springs, California.

Education

  • BA San Diego State University

  • AA Southwestern College.

    Apprenticeships: 1993-1995 Palla Scultore Marble Sculpture Studio, Pietrasanta, Italy

    1995-1996 Fratelli Cacciatori Marble Sculpture Studio, Pietrasanta, Italy

    1996-2001 Bottega Versiliese Marble Sculpture Studio, Pietrasanta, Italy

Selected Exhibitions

  • 2018 The Annenberg Foundation at Sunnylands, Rancho Mirage, California

  • 2017-2022 Galerie Lorien, Copenhagen, Denmark

  • 2010-2018 Coda Gallery, Palm Desert, California (monthly exhibitions)

  • 2014 Vickers Galleries, Sedona, Arizona

  • 2013-2015 Vickers Galleries Collection, Aspen, Vail, and Beaver Creek, Colorado

  • 2011 Heart Month Artists, American Heart Association, Coda Gallery, Palm Desert, California

  • 2008 Between Two Worlds, City of Palm Desert Gallery, Palm Desert, California

  • 2006 Home, Chiostro di Sant’Agostino, Pietrasanta, Italy

  • 2005 Fabianoarte, Pubblica Assistenza di Fabiano, Fabiano, Italy

  • 2005 Vico Vitri Art, Proposte Latine, Azzano, Italy

  • 2005 Torre Upezzinghi, Pontedera, Italy

  • 2005 Migrazioni, Atrio del Palazzo Comunale di Savona, Savona, Italy

  • 2005 Migrazioni, Chiostro Francescano di Mellea, Farigliano, Turin, Italy

  • 2004 Migrazioni, Palazzo Mediceo, Seravezza, Italy

  • 2003 O'Bernier Gallery, La Jolla, California

  • 2002 100 Artisti in Cantina, Arkad Foundation, Seravezza, Italy

  • 2001 Gallery Belle Arte, Château St. Gerlach, Maastricht, Holland

  • 2001 Project Giotto, G8, Palazzo della Provincia, Genoa, Italy

  • 2001 Arte Giovane, Monteggiori, Italy

  • 2001 Arte per una Nuova Biblioteca, Scuola Michele Rossi, Lido di Camaiore, Italy

  • 2000 ASART Show 2001, Spazio Raffo Marmi, Pietrasanta, Italy

  • 2000 ASART Open Studios, Pietrasanta, Italy

  • 2000 Gallery Belle Arte, Chateau St. Gerlach, Maastricht, Holland

  • 2000 Omaggio dell’Arte alla Vergine Maria, Convento S. Francesco, Pietrasanta, Italy

  • 1999 Anime Apuane, Assessorato alla Cultura di Carrara, (traveling exhibition)

  • 1999 Ex Banca d'Italia, Carrara, Italy

  • 1999 Italsky Kutumi Institut, Prague, Czech Republic

  • 1998 Palais des Congrès, Grasse, France

  • 1998 Schloss Schönbrunn Österreich, Vienna, Austria

  • 1998 Giovane Scultura senza Frontiere, Comune di Volterra, Assessorato alla Cultura, Volterra, Italy

  • 1997 Logge del Palazzo Pretorio, Volterra, Italy

  • 1997 Grafica, Materia, Colore, Chiesa di S. Paolo all’Orto, Pisa, Italy

  • 1992 Essex Museum Salem Witches Tercentenary Anniversary, Salem, Massachusetts

  • 1991 Emerging Visions ’92, Melrose Village Gallery, West Hollywood, California

  • 1990 Apocrypha, Wilton Project Theater, Hollywood, California

  • 1984-1987 San Diego Art Institute, Monthly Group Exhibitions, San Diego, California

  • 1982 Evening with the Stars’82, Mexican American Foundation, Westgate Hotel, San Diego, California

  • 1982 University Club, San Diego, California

  • 1981 Expo 1981, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City, Mexico

Selected Commissions

  • 2021 Meditating Frog Fountain, Oliv Tucson Apartment Complex, Tucson, Arizona

  • 2018 Seashell collection, Kindred Black

  • 2016 Portrait bust, George Washington Carver Foundation

  • 2016 Trump Hut political protest traveling sculpture, Republican National Convention, Cleveland, Ohio

  • 2013 Altarpiece, St. Anne Church, San Diego, California

  • 2005 Reiss Project, Private Chapel, La Jolla, California

  • 2002 El Niño de Santa Maria de Atocha, Holy Sepulcher Cemetery, Orange, California

  • 2002 A Tribute to Woody Herman for PBS Television, Douglas Fairbanks Gardens, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, California

  • 1997-1999 The Garden of the Resurrection, El Camino Memorial Park, San Diego, California

  • 1996 Our Lady of Guadalupe Plaza, El Camino Memorial Park, San Diego, California

Grants

  • California Arts Council Award x Artist Disruptors, The Center for Cultural Power, 2023

  • Debra I Moore Grant for the Arts, L-Fund, 2023

  • California Relief Fund for Artists and Arts Practitioners, California Arts Council, 2022

Residencies and Symposiums

  • The Annenberg Foundation at Sunnylands, Rancho Mirage, California (Celebrating the estate's sculpture collection)

  • Simposio di Scultura, Pontedera, Italy

  • Scultura in Abetone, Abetone, Italy

  • Il Tempo nella Memoria, Campomaggiore Vecchio, Potenza, Italy

  • Concours de Sculptures sur Bois, Saint Michel de Maurienne, France

  • Laboratorio di Scultura di Front, Turin, Italy

  • Simposio di scultura figurativa su marmo, Turin, Italy

  • Project Giotto, 16 Countries for the G8 Meeting (representing U.S.A.), Genoa, Italy

CV