Giovanni Casadei

I was born and raised in Rome, Italy.

From 1978 to 1980, I studied at Scuola Libera del Nudo in Rome under the instruction of the Armenian artist Alfonso Avanessian. It was a very productive, creative, and formative five years for me as an artist. On December 1, 1983, I arrived in Philadelphia. At the age of 27, I started the biggest adventure of my life — to be an artist. In 1988, I enrolled in a four-year certificate program at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. I began to take classes with Seymour Remenick, who became my mentor and friend for the last 10 years of his life. Since 1997, I have been teaching painting at various art centers in the Philadelphia area. I enjoy teaching and sharing my knowledge and experiences from my studio and as an en plein air painter with my students. I have found teaching to be inspiring, challenging, and creative.