Heather Cassils uses the physical body as a sculptural mass to rupture societal norms. Bashing through binaries, Cassils performs transgendered not as something about crossing from one sex to another, but rather as a continual becoming, a process-oriented way of being that works in a space of indeterminacy, spasm, and slipperiness. Elaborating on the idea that our bodes are often formed in relation to societal expectations, Cassils will talk about their two most recent works Cuts: A Traditional Sculpture and Becoming An Image, and will unpack the process, historical context, and points of inspiration that inform these works. Additionally, Cassils will discuss their new works in progress and share yet to be seen excerpts with the audience.

Recent exhibitions include: a solo show at Trinity Square Video, Toronto, a solo show at Ronald Feldman Fine Arts in NYC, screening at ICA, London, sold out performances at The National Theater Studio, London UK and a commission by Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions for Pacific Standard Time. Cassils' writings have been published in numerous books, including Signs: Journal of Women and Culture in Society and Commerce By Artists, edited by Art Metropole. Listed by the Huffington Post as one of 10 Transgender Artists Who Are Changing The Landscape Of Contemporary Art and featured on the covers of multiple journals (TDR, Performance Research and College Art Association’s Art Journal), Cassils also received a MOTHA award (Museum of Transgender Hirstory & Art) for Best Solo Show of (2013), The California Community Foundation Grant (2013), Rema Hort Mann Visual Arts Fellowship (2014) and is a 2015 Creative Capital Grant recipient.


The Leslie Lohman Queer Art Lecture Series is dedicated to queer art and artists. The series showcases the most significant contemporary queer artists with an emphasis on exploring the relationship between their sexuality and their art.

This event is co-sponsored by the UB Department of Art, Hallwalls, the Queer Studies Research Workshop, Pride Center of WNY, Gay & Lesbian Youth Services, and OUTLaw. Ongoing lecture series made possible by a grant from the Leslie Lohman Museum for Gay & Lesbian Art.