Dari Cassar is a 32-year-old multidisciplinary artist whose life-size, stylized sculptures challenge perception and invite personal reflection. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Art with an emphasis in Painting and Sculpture from California State University Channel Islands, and an Associate’s Degree in Natural Sciences, where she studied anatomical form from a pre-nursing perspective. This unique academic foundation deeply informs her work, merging the precision of science with the emotive force of fine art.
Based in Los Angeles, Dari also works in the film industry as a scenic painter, specializing in animatronics, aging, creatures, visual effects, and prop painting. Some of her notable credits include The Mandalorian (Seasons 2, 3, and the upcoming feature film), and the forthcoming Christopher Nolan film The Odyssey. These professional experiences sharpen her technical skills while expanding her understanding of world-building, storytelling, and the power of physical form.
Dari’s sculptures are crafted with care and intention. She kisses each piece before it leaves her studio, to imbue with them love and spirit. They are energetic entities that exist between emotional memory and material exploration. She works almost exclusively with salvaged materials. Over 95% of her components are repurposed from donated items, studio scraps, or cast-offs from her work in film. This sustainable practice adds layered histories to each piece and reflects her commitment to giving new life to discarded materials.
Her art investigates contrasts: the softness of silicone against the grit of rust, the interplay between decay and renewal, and the quiet complexity of aging forms. Found objects and fabricated elements come together in hybrid figures that are simultaneously unsettling, familiar, and deeply human. Inspired by bodies and identities outside conventional beauty standards, her work blends stylized anatomy with emotional presence.
Her sculptures invite viewers to look closer, sparking curiosity, raising questions, and sometimes gently unsettling expectations. They open space for conversation around the body, beauty, and the quiet influence of cultural norms. By observing how people respond to her work, Dari reflects on the ways we categorize and connect with objects, with others, and with ourselves.
In a time when art can feel distant or over-intellectualized, Dari’s practice remains grounded in material honesty and emotional texture. Her sculptures live in the space between realism and abstraction, humor and reverence, memory and transformation.
