Privileged Moments . . . (with everything in a row) by Casey Roberts
sanctuary (flooded in golden light)
“Nature is incredible,” artist Casey Roberts smiled, “Earlier this summer I was inspired as I watched a bird dive into a lake and pull out a small fish. As it flew away (I assume pleased that it would be having fish for dinner) a hawk swooped in from out of nowhere and attacked the smaller bird. The little bird dropped its fish, and the fish fell until it landed directly on a turtle that was sitting on a log below. While totally absurd, that was a privileged moment.”
important vessel
This month in the Harrison Gallery, Casey Roberts presents his latest show called Privileged Moments . . . (with everything in a row). “I think the title refers to the alignment of circumstances that create special moments,” Roberts explained, “like if this thing happens at the exact same moment that thing happens… It’s the aligning of ordinary events to set a different stage.”
In a mentality similar to that of David Foster Wallace—one of the great writers of the 20th century—Roberts sees even the most ordinary situation as abundantly meaningful. And not only meaningful, but in the words of Wallace, “on fire with the same force that made the stars.” Roberts’ work, characterized by cyanotype chemicals treated as light-sensitive watercolors, features large and idiosyncratic landscape paintings. In the words of Roberts, “These pieces show man and nature trying to work it all out.”
Casey Roberts' work hangs in the Harrison Gallery throughout the month of September.