Strange Fruit – Bad Seeds

Description

Bay Area artists, John Casey and Martha Sue Harris morph their fantastic curiosities and illuminate the darkest corners of our minds.


The extraordinary world of pseudo–science can best be explained through human effort to counteract natural world. Structural defects, abnormalities, and explorations in unattainable worlds of nature immediately conjure up engaging and winsome images. Both John and Martha have brought their artistic talents to Receiver Gallery in what is surely to be a show to question your beliefs.

John Casey is obsessed with fictitious human morphology, which he explores in his ink drawings and small sculptures. At first glance, his works seem to portray a menagerie of deformed creatures. A collective analysis reveals this array of oddball creations to be a series of psychological studies; self–portraits of the artists inner psyche in all its multifaceted incarnations. Some sad, some horrific and some whimsical, these characters evoke responses from laughter and sympathy to disgust and discomfort. While one might call Casey's work the exorcising of inner demons, his creations inspire more empathy than they do loathing. By depicting the grotesque as pitiable, John Casey illuminates the darkest corners of the mind, seeking redemption for all of us.

Martha Sue continues with the naturalia themes in recent work, but returns to human forms as well. The exhibition takes inspiration from the cabinets of curiosity, using them as a framework within which to explore such themes as femininity and fertility. The exhibit includes wall-mounted sculpture and paintings intended to evoke antiquarian science displays. It also includes a window display installation of an imaginary habitat, inspired by a dream, which perhaps approaches the same subject matter through a more modern lens.

More Info

Link

http://receivergallery.com