Bruno Casiano is a Puerto Rican artist based in Cleveland Ohio who combines traditional and contemporary art. Born in Gary, Indiana, the son of a steel worker, Bruno’s family moved back to their hometown, of Juana Diaz, a coastal rural community in Puerto Rico, when he was 10 years old. Young Casiano developed an interest in art awakened by these rural surroundings and by the awareness of living in an Island, which made a great impression on him. In his work, regardless of the technique he chooses, from a traditional perspective he emulates the look and feel of serigraphy, which is an important aspect in Puerto Rican Arts and Craft traditions. In addition, the imagery of mountains, mangos, ceiba trees, caves, leaves, lizards, branches and water, colors and forms displayed in high contrast are common themes in Casiano’s work.
In the early 1980's, he studied studio painting at the School of Fine Arts in Old San Juan, Directed by Institute of Culture. In 1986, he receives a full scholarship to study illustration at School of Design, (Parson NY Affiliated) Altos de Chavon, Dominican Republic and in 1996 he receives a Bachelor Degree at the Cleveland Institute of Art in Ohio. In 2021, he opens Bruno Casiano Gallery and curates an array of important shows displaying works of local and international artists. Recently, in 2023, he had a solo show at Moca (Contemporary Museum of Art Cleveland) composed of eleven large mix-medium paintings.
Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center Artist Spotlight: Illuminating Unidos por el Arte is made possible in part by an investment of public funds from the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically.