John Casey & Martha Sue Harris. November 3rd – 30th, 2007.
Strange Fruit – Bad Seeds.
Press Release | Artist's Bios | Opening Photos
- John Caseyvisit artist's site | read artist bio
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Chatty Clown
pen and ink on paper
18" x 13.5"
2007
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Double Take
mixed media
12" tall
2007
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Left Hands For Sale
mixed media
12" tall
2007
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Ancestor
pen and ink
15" x 11"
2007
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Bloodletting
pen and ink
18" x 15"
2007
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Collector
pen and ink
11" x 15"
2007
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Father
pen and ink
15" x 11"
2007
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Hands Off
mixed media
11" tall
2007
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Harvest
pen and ink on paper
10" x 12"
2007
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Housekeeper
mixed media
17" tall
2007
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Rare Find
pen and ink on paper
15" x 20"
2007
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Spawn
pen and ink on paper
15" x 11"
2007
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Two Faced
mixed media
11" tall
2007
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Untouchable
pen and ink on paper
11" x 15"
2007
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Crossing Swords or Concking Heads
ink on wood
34" x 30"
2007
- Martha Sue Harrisvisit artist's site | read artist bio
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Hummingbird Root 2
mixed media
10" x 13"
2007
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Citrus Puteulanus
mixed media
11.5" x 18"
2007
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Reliquary for Imaginary Fruit: Vermis deliciae
acrylic on paper
9" x 10", 16" x 20" framed
2007
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Reliquary for Imaginary Fruit: Citrus puteulanus
acrylic on paper
9" x 10", 16" x 20" framed
2007
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Talisman and the Emissary
acrylic on paper
9" x 10", 16" x 20" framed
2007
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Reliquary for Imaginary Fruit: Draconis fructus
acrylic on paper
9" x 10", 16" x 20" framed
2007
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Reliquary for Imaginary Fruit: Fructus folliculi
acrylic on paper
9" x 10", 16" x 20" framed
2007
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L. Spiritus (Fungus) 1
mixed media (polymer clay, acrylic, fabric)
4" x 6"
2007
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L. Spiritus (Fungus) 2
mixed media (polymer clay, acrylic, fabric)
4" x 6"
2007
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L. Spiritus (Fungus) 3
mixed media (polymer clay, acrylic, fabric)
4" x 6"
2007
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L. Spiritus (Fungus) 4
mixed media (polymer clay, acrylic, fabric)
4" x 6"
2007
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Sweet Tooth Tuber
mixed media (wax, fabric)
7" x 12"
2007
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Hummingbird Root 1
mixed media (polymer clay, acrylic, fabric)
7" x 8"
2007
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Invader Species Installation
vinyl, acrylic, burlap
various sizes and pieces
2007
please contact us for info -
Reaching For Imaginary Fruit
vinyl, acrylic, burlap
various sizes and pieces
2007
About The Show
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 there artistic talents to Receiver Gallery to showcase there lastest work 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 artist's inner psyche in all of 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 again 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.
Artists will be in attendance and refreshments will be served.
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Artist Biographies
John Casey
Born on Friday the 13th, 1964 in Salem, Massachusetts, John Casey has been inventing creatures as soon as he was able to hold a crayon. Drawings that his mother saved from when he was only three years old reveal an obsession with the figure. The figures in these drawings show not only the distorted perceptions of a child, but a fascination with skulls, teeth, spirographic eyes, and invented body parts. This obsession with strange creatures continued throughout his youth. "Monster models, war dioramas, dinosaurs, and horror movies on the T.V. [this included "Creature Double Feature" on Saturday afternoons, of course] occupied much of my time."
John graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston in 1988 with a BFA in Painting. Several years ago he relocated to Oakland, California with his lovely wife Mary.
SELECTED SOLO, TWO & THREE PERSON EXHIBITIONS
- 2007
- Receiver Gallery, San Francisco, CA – New Works with Martha Sue Harris
- FPAC Gallery, Boston, MA – Metamorphosis Chamber
- TAG Art Gallery, Nashville, TN – New Works with Josh Keyes
- 2006
- Boontling Gallery, Oakland, CA – Headache
- 33 Grand, Oakland, Oakland, CA – Along Came a Spider
- 2005
- National Product, San Francisco, CA – Creature Double Feature
- Super 7, San Francisco, CA – Toys Take No Prisoners
- Low Gallery, San Francisco, CA – Daily Dose
- Cricket Engine Gallery, Oakland, CA – Unusual Suspects
Martha Sue Harris
Martha Sue is an interdisciplinary artist who lives and works in San Francisco. Her most recent body of work brings her endearing and sometimes menacing characters to the plant kingdom. Imagining plant-life that has evolved monstrous traits, Harris' strange chimerical trees, flowers, and fungi are displayed in their (un)natural habitat. Her deviant vision of botany illustrates relationships and issues within the plant kingdom, but is equally imbued with insights into human emotion and interaction.
EXHIBITIONS
- 2007
- Blk/Mrkt Gallery, Culver City, CA – BMG Artists' Annual Installation
- 2006
- Madam Edgar, Montreal, Quebec – Amour Chiffon Installation
- 33 Grand, Oakland, CA – Along Came a Spider
- 2005
- National Product, San Francisco, CA – Creature Double Feature
- 2004
- The Richmond Art Center Richmond, CA – It's a Sad, Beautiful World