Explorations III
John Thayer Casey
June 27, 1931 – May 4, 2011
November 1st – 26, 2011
Working primarily in acrylics and watercolor, John’s best work seemed to come when he started from only a very general idea, or even from a random initial play of color, shape and texture. Interacting with what was happening in the work as it progressed, he worked toward an aesthetic and expressive arrangement of shaped color, line, and/or texture. The marks on the surface would stir up memories or recollections which became guideposts for his creative process. John made esthetic decisions that were almost autonomous and lie just below the level of consciousness. These esthetic decisions usually moved the work toward a general sense of mystery embodied in nature, or to some aspect of the many mysteries of human existence. John would frequently mull over an idea for a painting until all of the distracting and non-essential details fell away, leaving a core concept that he developed into a visual equivalent of a certain aspect or attribute of the natural world.
John was born in New London, Conn. (“in the shadow of the Nathan Hale Schoolhouse,” as he was fond of saying). After graduating from Corvallis High School in 1950, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, and was stationed in Alaska, where he was a radar operator. After discharge in 1954 at the rank of Staff Sergeant, he went to the University of Oregon. He was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree there. John went on to the California School of Arts and Crafts in Oakland and earned his Master of Fine Arts degree. John taught studio art and art theory at Western Oregon University for 22 years, and also taught at Oregon State University and CCAC. John’s worked in various media, exhibited in juried and invitational shows at the Denver Art Museum, Seattle Art Museum, Portland Art Museum, Oakland Art Museum and smaller museums, art galleries, colleges and universities.
Explorations III
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