instagram: @jamescaseleal
​James Case-Leal is an interdisciplinary artist based in Beacon, New York, whose work explores the intersections of embodiment, cultural history, and perception. Drawing from his background as a bi-racial, second-generation Mexican-American, Case-Leal engages with themes of identity, memory, and connection through diverse media, including painting, installation, performance, and digital art.
His process often incorporates labor-intensive techniques and material experimentation, such as his Black Rainbow and Sun painting series, which investigate the emotional experience of light and color. His current series, En Mis Ojos (Inside My Eyes), draws on optical phenomena and personal histories to reflect the entangled relationships between vision, the body, and the environment.
Case-Leal’s practice extends beyond the studio into teaching, community organizing, and public engagement. He has taught at institutions such as Columbia University, CUNY, SUNY, and Vassar College, where he developed curriculum bridging digital production techniques with critical media literacy. He is also the creator of Art Statistics, a data-driven project that examines inequities in the art world and has been featured in publications like The Nation, Hyperallergic, and artnews.
His work has been exhibited internationally in galleries and institutions including Franklin Parrasch, The Journal Gallery, Marianne Boesky, Fergus McCaffrey, the Queens Museum, and the Museo de Bellas Artes in Havana. Case-Leal is a recipient of grants from NYFA (New York Foundation for the Arts) and the New York State Council on the Arts. He recieved an MFA from Columbia University in Sculpture/New Genre in 2014.
With a professional background in digital fabrication and project management, Case-Leal has collaborated with artists, architects, and institutions, including David Byrne, TheNational, Ari Marcopoulos, Matthew Ritchie, and the Guggenheim Museum. He brings this expansive technical knowledge to his art and teaching, emphasizing the interplay between materiality, technology, and creative expression.
In addition to his studio work, Case-Leal is deeply engaged with his local community. As a community organizer and formerly elected to the Beacon City Board of Education, he has championed the arts as well as equity, access, and inclusion.