Cas Friese (b. 1979) is a mixed media artist whose practice is rooted in photography and expanded through textile-based processes. Her work explores the interplay of light and shadow, presence and absence, using tonal contrasts and familiar visual relationships to navigate themes of impermanence and transformation.
Best known for her large-scale, hand-finished works on linen, Friese begins with photographic studies of flora in their fleeting or transitional states, which she prints onto linen before unweaving and reworking them into modern-day tapestries. Through this layered process of deconstruction and reconstruction, she underscores the connection between the unraveling textile and the ephemeral qualities of her subject matter. Drawing on the historical lineage of tapestry as both image and object, her practice bridges tradition and contemporaneity, transforming a centuries-old art form into a meditation on memory and transience. In addition to these singular works, Friese produces a limited edition print collection on paper, drawn from various series.
Her work is held in private collections throughout the United States.