{"id":1006447,"date":"2026-06-05T06:16:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T06:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1006447\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T06:16:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T06:16:30","slug":"from-apocalypse-to-renewal-amy-casey-paints-a-surreal-world-in-distress-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1006447\/","title":{"rendered":"From Apocalypse to Renewal, Amy Casey Paints a Surreal World in Distress \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Amy Casey<\/a>\u2019s meticulous acrylic paintings, houses and main street buildings whirl through the air amid debris, teeter in huge piles in the sea, or balance precariously on giant clusters of fungi. Our perception is tested: are the houses really tiny or are their surroundings exceedingly big? That slippage is at the heart of her practice, which confronts our current, often overwhelming information era and its politics, war, the climate crisis, population displacement, and more. \u201cIt is hard to process the world and the constant flow of information about it without feeling powerless and paralyzed,\u201d the artist says. \u201cSometimes life just feels like a neverending shriek.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her paintings, which are often as small as six inches wide but can range in size up to several feet, Casey renders actual houses and buildings she has observed mostly around her home in Cleveland. They\u2019re often catapulting through space and losing bits of themselves, which mirrors what Casey describes as witnessing a world \u201cthat seems to become a stranger on a daily basis.\u201d She adds, \u201cAs I watch a world on the brink, painting it literally falling apart allows me to process life and function on a daily basis,\u201d she says. \u201cEnvisioning towns in worse-case scenarios serves as an acknowledgment and a hope that there is still time to change; it isn\u2019t that bad yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cIn the Trees\u201d (2025), acrylic on panel, 16 x 16 inches<\/p>\n

Recently, Casey has begun to focus on nature, incorporating houses into surreal scenes filled with delicate ink caps or overgrown tree stumps. Even here, the emphasis is on decay, but she tugs on a more hopeful cord to reveal a sense of flourishing and renewal, too. These small paintings revisit houses that have spun away from their previous turmoil and landed in a new resting place, although not without challenges. After all, how does one live on top of an oyster mushroom?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have all experienced our own versions of the world turning upside down and trying to find our footing and start over while feeling small, alone, and overwhelmed by unsettling change,\u201d the artist says in a statement. \u201cThese paintings meditate on these feelings and what it\u2019s like to be alive in this overwhelming time and place. These are not gnome or fairy houses in a magical forest. They are the surviving remnants of a world on the precipice, but they are like nature, like us: nothing if not resilient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey\u2019s work is currently on view in a group show at Brassworks Gallery<\/a> through June 6 in Portland and Zg Gallery<\/a> in Chicago. She\u2019s also preparing for a show at Maria Neil Art Project<\/a> this September in Cleveland. Follow updates on Casey\u2019s Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cCrowd Support\u201d (2024), acrylic on panel, 6 x 6 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cYearning\u201d (2025), acrylic on panel, 6 x 6 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cBreak Up\u201d (2025), acrylic on panel, 10 x 10 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cAvast Amass\u201d (2025), acrylic on paper, 50 x 60 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cPerambulating\u201d (2025), acrylic on panel, 24 x 24 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cEffulgent\u201d (2025), acrylic on panel, 6 x 6 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cOn a Limb\u201d (2024), acrylic on panel, 6 x 6 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cLuminant\u201d (2024), acrylic on panel, 6 x 6 inches<\/p>\n

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