Autumn CaseyClint and April, 2022Welded steel, recycled foam, plaster, fiberglass, apoxie clay, outdoor paint, and resin.Site-specific installationJuly 29 – October 7, 2022For MOCA’s Art on the Plaza, Miami-based artist Autumn Casey presents Clint and April, a pair of human-scaled sculptures of swans. Named for the artist’s parents, the sculptures represent the complexity of familial relationships by embodying these figures as creatures that are known to mate for life, often representing romance through kitsch.For Casey, whose parents are divorced, the work considers how a pair can remain bonded outside of societal norms, inextricably part of each other’s lives through family traditions and milestones such as marriages, weddings, and funerals. Deliberately awkward, cartoonish and embracing a handmade aesthetic, Clint and April are not perfectly formed, yet reveal their quirks to communicate a sense of humanity and humility. The works become even more whimsical for visitors during the evening, when the sculptures are illuminated using solar power. Through romance, disappointment, familiarity, and the fantastic, Clint and April are grounded in an earnest exploration of the human condition.For Casey, the intention of the work is to spark conversation and create a tender space for the contemplation of beauty, love, ideas of worship, and familial bonds. The artist hopes that the sculptures will inspire conversation between visitors, considering such questions and prompts as:How did your parents meet?Share a memory that comes to mind.Do you believe in soul mates?What does it mean to be beautiful?What does worship mean to you?Who or what do you worship?Recall a time you felt empowered.Share a fantasy.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Autumn Casey (b. 1987, West Palm Beach, FL) currently lives and works in Miami, FL. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the New World School of the Arts, Miami, FL and a Master’s Degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA. Her practice, which moves from sculpture to collage, as well as video and performance, considers the history of the found objects and assemblage – redeploying existing materials or moments in unexpected, idiosyncratic ways. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, FL; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL; Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA; Practice Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, among others. Her work is collected by the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, the Pérez Art Museum Miami and in private collections in Miami and New York City.