Pandora LaCasse is a sculptor and environmental artist whose pioneering work with sculptural light installations has helped shape the way public spaces are experienced after dark. For more than four decades she has created installations that transform parks, plazas, and landscapes, inviting viewers to experience light as both a material and an atmosphere. Her work grows out of an intuitive understanding of structure combined with a deep sensitivity to landscape, architecture, and community.
LaCasse is best known for her large-scale sculptural light installations, many of which have become seasonal and long-running features in public spaces throughout Portland, Maine, and beyond. Her projects range from temporary and seasonal works to permanent commissions for civic, educational, and private settings. Frequently incorporating computer-controlled lighting, her installations shift through evolving color palettes and rhythmic sequences that echo cycles in nature and patterns of human activity.
Her path as an artist developed alongside family life. She began studying at the University of Maine at Orono in 1974, first in botany and later in the Fine Art Department. During those years she and her husband David, who was studying mechanical engineering, welcomed their two children, Bree and Christopher.
From 1983 to 1986 she attended the MFA Sculpture program at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The family lived in West Philadelphia near campus, where the children explored the neighborhood and played along Locust Walk—especially around Claes Oldenburg’s Split Button. At Penn, her professor Maurice Lowe called her a trailblazer—the first married woman with two small children to enter the MFA sculpture program—and encouraged her upon graduation to become involved in her community, advice that continues to shape both her life and her work.
Through her studio, Pandora LaCasse Studio, she designs and produces environmental installations that merge art, engineering, and site-specific vision. Her work has been widely exhibited and commissioned across New England, Canada, and the United States. She is the recipient of the Maine College of Art Award for Entrepreneurship in the Arts and has taught sculpture and design for decades, mentoring generations of artists.
Community Service
2015–Present — Founding Member, Board Member, and currently Advisor, TempoArt, Portland, Maine
2012–2026 — Member, Congress Square Redesign Committee and Capital Campaign, representing the Portland Museum of Art
2009–2018 — Member, Portland Public Art Committee, Portland, Maine. Oversaw public art policy for the City of Portland; served on site committees for permanent works and helped establish guidelines for temporary public art.
2007–2008 — Creative Economy Steering Committee Member
2000–2003 — Board Member, Portland Arts and Cultural Alliance (PACA)
1997–1998 — Steering Committee Member, Celebrating Community, Cultural Plan for the City of Portland
1993–1994 — Advisory Member, Arts and Culture Steering Committee. Developed plans for revitalizing downtown Portland through arts and culture and helped shape the concept for the Arts District.
1993–1994 — Commissioner, Friends of the Park Commission, City of Portland
1993–1994 — Chair, Arts in the Park Subcommittee. Developed criteria for evaluation and acceptance of proposed artworks and donated items placed on City property.
1991–1994 — Member, Portland Public Schools Committee. Personnel Committee (1991); Chair, Finance Committee (1992); Curriculum Committee (1993); Middle School Building Committee (1993)
Awards & Recognition
2021 — Key to the City, presented by Portland City Manager Jon Jennings, recognizing LaCasse’s work illuminating Portland through winter light installations.
2018 — Proclamation from the City of Portland honoring LaCasse for completing her third term on the Portland Public Art Committee and for helping shape the city’s public art program. Presented by Mayor Ethan Strimling.
2007 — Award for Entrepreneurship in the Arts, Maine College of Art & Design
1980 — Art Award, Department of Art, University of Maine at Orono
Major Public Commissions
Commissioned by Portland Downtown over the past 20+ years.
1998–Present — Tommy’s Park, Exchange Street
1999–Present — Longfellow Square
2000–Present — Congress Street Corridor Light Poles
2003–Present — Eight Standing, Boothby Square
2003–2014 — Asymmetry & Symmetry, Congress Square Park
2014–Present — Nine Trees, Congress Square Park
2005–Present — Ocean Spray, Commercial Street building facades
2017–Present — Chandeliers, Lincoln Park
2018–Present — Pleasant Street Park
Public Commissions Sponsored by Organizations (Portland)
1999–Present — Cascading Spheres, Maine College of Art & Design (Facade)
2013–Present — Glimpse, Portland Museum of Art (Facade)
2003–2025 — Oaks All Around the Pond, Deering Oaks
2003–Present — Candelabra, Rose Garden Oak Tree, Deering Oaks
2026–Present — Peacock, Deering Oaks
2026–Present — Along the Road, Deering Oaks
2026 — In the Garden, First Parish Church, Portland (Permanent)
2018 — Bakery Studio, Pleasant Street (Permanent)
2015–2019 — Paper Flow, Press Hotel facade
2011 — Obliques, J.B. Brown & Sons, Gorham’s Corner (Permanent)
2009 — Along the Bay, Little Diamond Island (Permanent)
2006 — Great Diamond Island (Permanent)
2005 — Peaks Island (Permanent)
Other Commissions
2018 — Hilldale Shopping Center, Madison, Wisconsin (Permanent)
2018 — Ceres Street, Portsmouth, New Hampshire (Permanent)
2017–Present — Garden, Post Office Square, Boston (Seasonal)
2015–Present — Trellis, Post Office Square, Boston (Seasonal)
2015–Present — Main Street Light Poles, Falmouth, Maine (Seasonal)
2014–2016 — Market Street at Lynnfield, Massachusetts
2014-”The Twelve”, 2014 Hampton Inn, Lewiston, Maine, Permanent Location
2013–Present — FAM, Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine
2013 — The Street at Chestnut Hill, Boston (Permanent)
2012–Present — Morning Glory, Brunswick, Maine
2010-”The Twelve”, 2010 Kendal Square, Cambridge, Boston, Temporary Sculpture
2006–2011 — L.L.Bean Campus Installation, Freeport, Maine
2006–2009 — Denny Block, Freeport, Maine
2006 — Spicewood Ranch, Spicewood, Texas (Permanent)
Percent for Art – Maine
1996 — Flight, suspended bird sculpture, Otisfield Community School
1993 — When the Moon Dressed Up the Birds Followed Suit. Multi-unit suspended sculpture depicting colorful birds and crescent moon forms.
1989 — A Kaleidoscopic View. Multi-unit ceiling installation of colored aluminum and mirrored stainless steel forms.
Selected Exhibitions & Events
2022 — Portland Stage, light forms for stage design
2021–2022 — Blaine House, winter light installations for Governor Janet Mills
2011 — Glitterati, The Telling Room fundraiser
2008–2014 — CeleSoiree, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project
2006 — June LaCombe Sculpture, Hawk Ridge Farm
2005–2002 — Sculpture Garden Invitational, UNE Art Gallery
1997–1998 — Lakes Gallery and Sculpture Garden outdoor sculpture exhibitions
1997 — Faculty Show, Maine College of Art
1983 — MFA Sculpture Exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania
Teaching & Professional Experience
1987–2002 — Instructor, Life Sculpture, Continuing Studies, Maine College of Art
2000–2001 — Instructor, Design II, University of Southern Maine
1984–2000 — Artist-in-Residence & Touring Artist, Maine Arts Commission. Developed workshops creating large-scale papier-mâché animals and dinosaurs with students across Maine schools.
2018 — Lecturer, Makers at the Hall, Maine Charitable Mechanics Association
2019 — Guest Speaker, Public Art Class, Sculpture Department, Maine College of Art
1994–1998 — Assistant to Director, Lakes Gallery, South Casco, Maine