Dave Casey

Dave Casey holds a Master's Degree in Metalsmithing and Jewellery with a minor in Painting. He taught at the Alberta University of the Arts (Alberta College of Art + Design) from 1973 to his retirement in the Fall of 2017. His teaching experience spans the areas of drawing (introductory and intermediate), painting, sculpture, and jewellery/metalsmithing. Since 1980 his practice has evolved from jewellery/metalsmithing to painting, as of 1985 Dave has concentrated on painting. Dave moved to Vancouver Island in 2017 and continues to make work in his Nanoose Bay studio.

The paintings are a slow, quiet conversation. A meditation on the relationship of the Rational and the Irrational, each work offering the viewer the opportunity to interpret through their own personal story. Sometimes the work is random associations; sometimes it develops from an idea that might be thought of as naturally organized. Usually, a painting begins with the sight of two or more shapes, objects, or colours, which vibrate with interest. The primary relationship is established then ideas and images come to mind, which are developed on the canvas. As the work progresses, the original vision becomes less important, and the painting finds a strategy for completion. Objects and surface come together as sites for remembrance, the spaces in-between serve as a location for one’s own stories. The paintings are silent, bearing witness to the stories we may tell.