New/Group: Cassidy + Flowers + Misenheimer + Owens, December 4, 2015-January 2, 2016

Works of Art

Front Yard Prehistory I, 2021,oil on 
canvas mounted on panel, 16.5 x 12 in., 
$695

Front Yard Prehistory II, 2021, oil on canvas
mounted on panel, 17.25 x 14.5 in., $825

Observance, 2021, oil on canvas mounted on panel, 
13 x 13 in., $630 SOLD

Presence of Eastatoe, 2021, 
oil on panel, 51 x 30 in., $2,750

Whippoorwill and the Indian Mound, 
2021, oil on canvas, 24 x 18 in., $1,025

Cool Air, Ferment of Leaves, She
Crosses The Floodplain To Sleep
Through The Winter Rain, 2020, oil
on canvas, 32 x 26 in., $1,650

Messenger V, 2020, oil on canvas,
24 x 18 in., $ 1,025

Lead By The Messages Beneath
The Loam, He Travels On Through
The Butterweed, 2020, oil on 
canvas, 32 x 26 in., $1,450

Spanish Still Life And Simpler Times VI, 
2020, oil on panel, 6.75 x 6.25 in., $350
SOLD

Spanish Still Life And Simpler 
Times VII, 2020, oil on panel, 

Dream Of The Wilderness And The
Mystery VI, 2020, oil on canvas 
mounted on panel, 11 x10 in., $525
SOLD

Spanish Still Life And Simpler Times I, 
2020, oil on panel, 8 x 7.75 in., $350 
SOLD

Spanish Still Life And Simpler 
Times II, 2020, oil on panel, 
8 x 5.75 in., $275 SOLD

Spanish Still Life And Simpler Times III, 
2020, oil on panel, 7.75 x 10 in., $425

Spanish Still Life And Simpler 
Times IV, 2020, oil on panel, 
10 x 7.75 in., $425

Spanish Still Life And Simpler 
Times V, 2020, oil on panel, 
 10 x 7.75 in., $425

 

Messenger IV

Messenger III

Messenger I

Solid Pieces II, 2016, oil on canvas mounted
on panel, 8 1/2 x 7 1/2 in., $300 SOLD

The Past They Bear I, 2016, oil on canvas mounted
on panel, 6 1/2 x 5 in., $175

Statement and Bio

MICHAEL CASSIDY

West Columbia, S.C., artist Michael Cassidy (b. 1977, Flint, Mich.) has lived in the Columbia area for some 15 years. He was selected for the 701 CCA South Carolina Biennial 2015 at the city’s 701 Center for Contemporary Art. He has had solo exhibitions in 2009 and 2014 in the FAB Gallery at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, S.C., as well as a 2013 solo show at City Art Gallery in Columbia. Among group exhibitions in which he was included are those at S.C. State University’s I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium and the Anderson Art Center in Anderson, S.C. From 2011 – 2015, Cassidy worked as curator, gallery director and instructor at S.C. State. Since 2015, he works as an exhibits master craftsman at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia. Cassidy received an MFA from the University of South Carolina in 2014 and holds a BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Mich.

M i c h a e l     C a s s i d y

S m a l l   T h i n g s

     

We are constantly “connected” to the world via our phones, computers, pads, and pods. These devices are incredibly useful, but many of us allow them to dominate our lives. I believe we are at risk of losing track of some fundamental elements of being human. As accessibility and efficiency increase, awareness of our self and our surroundings decrease. We are losing the desire and ability to have direct, personal relationships in the present with other people and nature. We are suffering due to our noisy, overly connected, fast-paced, and multi-tasked culture.

These paintings are a reflection of the often neglected, but elemental human need to turn off and unplug. The highly detailed images are intended as portraits of silent, peripheral, and nearly invisible things. They are about recognizing beauty and fostering curiosity by slowing down, breathing deeply, looking closely, and heightening awareness of the small and overlooked.