大眾藝術網：靜物之中的意與美 —— 美國靜物畫家 Todd M. Casey 靜物繪畫作品欣賞

靜物之中的意與美 —— 美國靜物畫家 Todd M. Casey 靜物繪畫作品欣賞

Todd M. Casey was born and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts. His artistic education includes a BFA in Communication Design from Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, Massachusetts.

After receiving his degree in 2001, he moved to New York City, where he worked as a Graphic Designer. He then moved to San Francisco to pursue a Masters in Animation at the Academy of Art. While taking the foundation classes for his MFA, he found a true passion in painting, and returned to New York City to the studio of Jacob Collins at the Water Street Atelier and began his classical painting training in 2007. In 2010, he finished his studies and began teaching at the Guild Atelier in Brooklyn, New York.

Being raised in Massachusetts was most influential for Casey, as he loves history, and Colonial culture. He is inspired by the richness of vintage objects in historical cities, and enjoys incorporating antiquated narrative into his paintings. He also finds inspiration throughout his travels, and paints the myriad items he collects.

Casey』s work, touches on more than simplistic, rigid realism. There is a haunting, nearly literary quality to each frame. A feeling that subjects are viewed from behind rain-kissed, mottled glass; burnished by enigmatic candlelight— or brushed by the soft, hazy edges of a half-remembered dream. Works that are classically styled, but progressive in approach— fine, somber details, rendered with a clear, meticulous eye; and yet, somehow, subdued with a gentle, melancholic focus.

There is a definite purity to Casey』s paintings; the order and function of classical realist art— but equally, a plush, sentimental homage to emotive recollection. Casey paints images that are not constrained by the details of each subject』s frame; rather they emerge from their housing, passionate, contemplative, reverent, or regretful. Make no mistake, Casey』s work is more than line and brush stroke. It is a colorful tour through the very powerful emotions, surging through one man』s mind.

Drawing inspiration from classical art, historical literature, and personal experience; Casey imbues each piece with a love of both pragmatic, corporeal form, and storied, intentional function. That is to say, every painting has a tale to tell; whether emergent from the viewer』s own perception, or brewed from the very deep well of introspective thought, the artist inculcates with each brush stroke. Subtlety, refined grace, meditation, and honesty— are the hallmarks of Todd Casey』s aesthetic.

His paintings have been honored with awards, several times in recent years. Most recently, he won first place 2 years in a row in the Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition, and first place in oil painting from the Allied Artists of America, in 2015. His work can be found in collections throughout the United States; and exclusively on the East Coast, at Rehs Contemporary Gallery, in Midtown New York City.

Casey lives in New York, with his wife, Gina. When he is not working in his home studio, or preparing for gallery events, he reads Joseph Cambell, Paulo Coelho and Eckhardt Tolle, watches Woody Allen movies— or toils in his garden, when the weather allows.

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