STEPHEN DELLA CASA ARTIST


BIOGRAPHY

Stephen Della Casa is a lens-based artist who explores cultural and social issues through conceptual and abstract interpretations. His work often focuses on the natural world, with occasional ventures into architecture and portraiture. Born in Canada to German and Italian parents, Stephen’s practice emphasizes artistic responses, prioritizing personal expression over documentation. Themes he has explored include his family’s migration history, covering regions such as the Czech Republic, the former Sudetenland, northern Italy, and Ontario, Canada.

Stephen holds a Bachelor of Arts in law from Carleton University, where he first became aware of social issues that would later shape his artistic work. Following a thirty-five-year career in hospitality, Stephen shifted his focus to his creative pursuits. He earned an Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from OCAD University, where he received the prestigious Governor General’s Award for academic excellence. His projects are grounded in extensive research and reading, leading to works such as books on subjects including social spaces and forgotten histories, all driven by a creative process that challenges conventional narrative structures.


CV

Stephen Della Casa was born in Oshawa, Ontario, and resides in Cobourg, Ontario. Stephen holds Canadian and Italian citizenship.

EDUCATION

  • 2024 Hons BFA Photography, OCAD University, Toronto. Graduated with distinction. 
  • 1991 BA Law, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.


PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

  • 2025 Artist's Talk, Soundings: Lost Villages, Victoria Hall, Citizens Forum, Cobourg, Canada, October 25, 2025.
  • 2025 Exhibition, Soundings: Lost Villages, Solo Show, Art Gallery of Northumberland, Cobourg, Canada, September 4-November 2, 2025.
  • 2025 Soundings: Lost Villages – Photographs and Essay. Cobourg, Ontario: Art Gallery of Northumberland, 2025. Published by the Art Gallery of Northumberland.
  • 2025 Exhibition, Almanac 2025, Gallery 44 Members Group Show, Gallery 44, Toronto, Canada. July 15-30, 2025.
  • 2025 Exhibition, The Bleasdell Boulder Erratic, Yorkville Village, Toronto, Canada. May 1-30, 2025.
  • 2025 Exhibition, Spectra, Gallery 44 Members Group Show, The Music Hall, Toronto, Canada. May 14-25, 2025.
  • Della Casa, Stephen. Motel: Photographs and the Persistence of Stories. Self-published, Cobourg, Canada.
  • 2024 Exhibition, The Beer Store, GradEx 109, Ada Slaight Gallery, OCAD University, Toronto, Canada. May 1-5 2024.
  • 2023 Exhibition, Resolution, Senior Thesis Collaboration, OCAD University, Toronto, Canada. December 2023.
  • 2023 Exhibition, Memory/Displacement, INTAC. University of Europe for Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany. April 2023.
  • 2023 Exhibition De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Design and Arts Campus, Manila, Philippines. April 2023. 
  • 2023 Transference Exhibition. Backer, Chromien, Della Casa, Siraj, MPG183 Gallery. Toronto, Canada, March 2023.
  • 2022 Artist's Talk and Exhibition. The Memory of Water. OCAD University, Toronto, Canada.
  • 2022 Artist's Talk and Exhibition. Ships at The St. Lawrence Seaway, OCAD University, Toronto, Canada.
  • 2021 Artist's Talk and Exhibition. The Populux, Where We Lived, and Consumed. OCAD University, Toronto, Canada.
  • 2021 Exhibition, 43rd Juried Show, Art Gallery of Northumberland, Cobourg.
  • 2020 Della Casa, Stephen. Images of Northumberland, 2016-2019. Cobourg, Canada.
  • 2019 Artist's Talk. Iceland Topographies, Tri Country Cadet Regimental Dinner. Cobourg, Canada.