Casey Curran

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Art

Casey Curran’s Gilded Skeletal Sculptures and Kinetic Blooms Explore Bodily Degeneration

How does the connection between our bodies and memories change as we age? Artist Casey Curran (previously) attends to this question in a new series of kinetic sculptures. Titled Carrion Blooms, the works reference degeneration and decay and how the body’s stamina wanes. “We can all recall those days when our energy seemed endless, twenty-four-hour benders where we somehow managed to cram everything in; work, school, hobbies, friends, and family. The time felt limitless with possibilities,” Curran says.

Hand-cranks animate laser-cut insects and flowers made of mylar, which flutter, blossom, and retreat to their static positions. Emphasizing inevitable transformation and the fleeting nature of life, the artist likens the gilded skeletal structures to scaffolding, a prized foundation “to place the future on…Carrion Blooms is about how we change over time, how we use our days differently with age, and what it means to let go of the past,” he says. “What will be left when we are gone, and who will remember the arrangement we made?”

Carrion Blooms is on view from April 1 to May 6 at Heron Arts in San Francisco, and you can find more from Curran on his site and Instagram.

 

Art

Kinetic Flowers Grow from a Deteriorated Landscape in an Otherworldly Installation by Casey Curran

In Parable of Gravity, artist Casey Curran (previously) assembles a vast garden of delicate kinetic blossoms amidst an expanse of deterioration. The sweeping landscape, which is on view at Seattle’s MadArt through April 17, positions Curran’s pulsing plant forms atop 20 towers of wooden scaffolding that line the gallery space. Coated in a thick layer of mud, the tallest structures scale eight feet at the outer edge of the installation, where a human-like figure appears to hover in the air. The anonymous body is covered in the flowers, which are made from laser-cut polyester drawing papers and powered by cranks and small motors.

Through the maze of garden plots at the other end of the space hangs a hollow, aluminum asteroid—which is modeled after 951 Gaspra, the first rocky mass humans were able to observe in detail thanks to a 1991 viewing by the Galileo spacecraft. Titled “Anchor of Janus,” the imposing sculpture references both the Roman god and the intricate motifs on Gothic cathedrals and provides a foreboding, catastrophic lens to the otherwise burgeoning garden.

In a statement, Curran explains the confluence of the manufactured and organic themes:

This mythological, architectural, and astronomical convergence considers not only the scientific and spiritual aspects of our connection to the natural world, but also our cultural legacy and the ways in which past technological advancements continue to impact our lives and experiences today. Further, the reference to Janus recognizes the dual nature of human progress, with all of the positive and negative implications it carries.

Watch the video above to watch the installation take shape, and follow Curran on Instagram and Vimeo to stay up-to-date with his latest projects.

 

Art

New Kinetic Floral Sculptures by Casey Curran Blossom Through a Series of Wires and Cranks

Seattle-based artist Casey Curran (previously) builds sculpture environments from wire, laser-cut acrylic, aluminum, and sculpted brass. His works appear in a constant state of growth and bloom, opening and closing with the assistance of motors or hand-cranked systems. These interactive systems invite the audience to not only watch his sculptures but participate in their movement.

The works are inspired by complex systems in nature, yet aren’t obvious imitations of any particular source plant or natural object. “When conceiving my pieces I center on a hidden narrative and begin to assign visual elements that aline with the concept of the piece, often utilizing ornate structures and simple construction methods to further highlight my interests in foundation and form,” Curran explains on his website. “In the process of creating, I look for patterns in nature and symmetry in ecosystems. I look for how innovation shapes itself into our ever-expanding systems of complexity and knowledge.”

You can see more of Curran’s kinetic sculptures in motion on Instagram and Vimeo.

 

Art

Blooming Kinetic Sculptures Built with Wire by Casey Curran

Seattle-based artist Casey Curran constructs elaborate kinetic sculptures primarily of brass wire that twist, bloom, flip, or wiggle depending on the subject. Some pieces rely on a motorized mechanism, but most of his artworks function with the help of a single hand crank that brings the piece to life. His latest piece titled “Bequeath these Seeds” was made for the 2016 Bellevue Arts Museum biennial show titled “Metalmorphosis”. Curran shares more of his latest kinetic works—including a kinetic cheetoh man—on Instagram.