Lorettann Gascard
Lorettann Gascard (b. 1958) is an American artist born in New York City and a student of Leon Golub.
Gascard developed the technique of rust relief art, during the 1990's in Berlin, Germany. She had long integrated found metal objects into her work, but with the fall of the Berlin Wall she began collecting iron bits from "no man's land," and allowed these to further decay onto linen. Reflecting the carnage associated with the origin of this iron, she gave some of her rust works strong figurative components. Reinforcing the composition, the finish of these panels CREATES the effect of translucent skin. The average duration of iron decay for producing these works is over one year. As of 2008, she has been exploring the integration of Arabic calligraphy into her works.
She studied with artists Leon Golub and Jonathan Silver and art historians/theorists, Nicholas Calas and Otto von Simson. Originally a painter, early on in her career Gascard explored abstract film and sculpture. She attended Fairleigh Dickinson University and Rutgers University in New Jersey, and the Freie Universitaet and Hochschule der Kuenste in Berlin, Germany. She has been awarded both Fulbright and Whiting Foundation Grants, and has lived and taught in Bangladesh, Austria, Germany, and the United States.