Taking its name from a line in the experimental Japanese film House (1977), Fantasy and Her Fantasies showcases Casey’s animated and painterly approach to the construction of lighting. Imbuing these Tiffany-inspired pieces with a visible sense of haptic memory, Casey allows for the implication of constant movement that occurs within a highly layered reality. When emerged in this exhibition, the viewer may experience the artist’s conceptual generosity as the work engenders an empathic form of gestural communication, showing evidence of Casey’s hand moving through the pieces. 

The appearance and construction of these works is an inventive elaboration on the classic form of Tiffany lamps, investigating the relationship between authorship and labor, as Casey singlehandedly produces objects that reference lamps made in the Women’s Glass Cutting Department of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s workshop. Demonstrating the determination of a single artist, these fixtures give the illusion of stained glass, though they are materially closer to paintings. To produce each piece, Casey builds a frame from welded steel, delicately applying wire, layers of plaster and epoxy clay, before hand painting it in acrylic. She then fills the negative space of the resulting structure with hand-painted fabrics, all sourced from the collection of her grandmother, a dollmaker in her lifetime. A final application of resin to the fabric creates the impression of stained glass, giving each lamp a warm, spellbinding glow. 

Enveloping her multidisciplinary background in collage, performance, video, and sculpture, Casey’s home studio merges art with everyday life and engages the history of found objects and assemblage. She draws influence from artists like Ree Morton, recognized for vibrant, humorous works that embrace domestic life and materials; maintenance art pioneer Mierle Laderman Ukeles; and her folk artist grandparents who lived and worked as carpenter and dollmaker in a studio above their antique store in the Carolina hills.

https://www.thefutureperfect.com/exhibition/fantasy-and-her-fantasies/