City Arts Center presents Maggie Casey’s

Bearing the Echo of Proving Ground

Leading contemporary fiber artist stretches
thread through space and creates yarn
drawings of objects that fill the capacity of
a room.

For immediate release

February 19 , 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY — — When Chris Keesee first saw the

work of a young, American artist named Maggie Casey, he
hoped to see an exhibition of her work in Oklahoma City.
Bearing the Echo of Proving Ground is Ca-
Keesee, a longtime art collector who serves as Chairman of sey’s first exhibit in Oklahoma. It will also rep-
Kirkpatrick Bank and Kirkpatrick Oil Company, as well as resent the Southwest’s first formal exposure to
President of City Arts Center, recommended the exhibits her work.
committee at City Arts Center review her portfolio.
“We were impressed with her work and decided to pursue the exhibition” said Mary Ann Prior,
Executive Director, City Arts Center. “In talking to Maggie about her work and aspirations, it
quickly became apparent to me that she is a thoughtful, serious artist who is mature beyond her
years.”
Last week, Casey, along with her assistant, Genevieve, loaded a truck with her artwork and
began the long drive from Oregon to Oklahoma. The 2,000-mile journey will take them through
four U.S. capital cities, Boise, Salt Lake City, Cheyenne and Denver, before arriving in Oklahoma
City Monday. They will immediately begin installing the exhibit.
The body of work presented will range in format and media and include sculpture, installation
and new media. The exhibit will feature 10 pieces including five larger pieces. Some of the artwork
reflects generational studies.
At 27, Casey is one of the youngest artists to ever exhibit at City Arts Center. “I have never been
to Oklahoma and I’m very excited to enter a city where everything is new to me,” Casey said. “I’m
most excited about the amount of space the center has available.”
According to Prior, a Londoner who served as art curator for Bank of America Europe before
moving to Oklahoma in 2009, the space available for exhibiting artwork is one of City Art Center’s
most admired assets. “We are so fortunate to have the space we have,” Prior said. “It lends itself to
large installations like we’ll see from Maggie Casey.”
Bearing the Echo of Proving Ground opens at 5:30 p.m., March 1, with a wine and cheese
reception. At 12 p.m. (noon) that same day, Casey will deliver a lecture, String Me Along, about her
work. She will discuss the evolution from airy outlines to solid sculpture, as well as current
processes.
Also, that evening in the Circle Gallery, the public, including children, will kick off a
collaborative event that will run in tandem with the exhibit. Participating patrons will have an
opportunity to stretch various fibers including ribbons, crepe paper, yarn, string and colored tape
through the one-time planetarium. Each contribution will build upon preceding creations.
“Maggie is definitely a talent to watch because she is already attracting a lot of attention around
the country and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she gains international recognition quite soon,”
Prior said.
Bearing the Echo of Proving Ground runs through May 14.
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PR contact: Jennifer James, APR

pr@cityartscenter.org, (405) 951-0000
Biography, Maggie Casey
Maggie Casey grew up in Pennsylvania, and received a BFA in Fiber in 2005 at The
University of the Arts in Philadelphia. In 2007 her tapestry series, Model, was shown at
F.E.U.L. Gallery. The work was
recognized by the American Craft Council
and became part of the Searchlight Artist
series at the 2008 Baltimore ACC show.
Maggie moved to Portland OR in 2008,
and has since created installations at
Oregon College of Art and Craft, Mile
Post 5 and Appendix Project Space. In
2009 she became a coordinator of
Appendix Project Space and collaborated
with the other members during their time
of residency at Portland State University.
The collective has continued to work
alongside one another, and have
collectively shown at New American Art
Union and Ditch Space this past year.
While her work has undergone a shift in
influences and materials, Maggie
continues to take part in conversation
regarding contemporary fiber. She most
recently was invited to participate in the
Symposium titled Materiality + Meaning
in Seoul, South Korea, which was in conjunction with a group show at 175 Gallery. The
body of work being presented at Oklahoma City Art Center will range in format and media,
and include sculpture, installation, and new media.

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PR contact: Jennifer James, APR

pr@cityartscenter.org, (405) 951-0000
Goldtooth by Maggie Casey

Goldtooth
10' x 1' x 6'
Plaster, Wire, String

According to Casey, Goldtooth is primarily plaster presentation that

mimics a grid, topography and islands. It is installed cattycorner on a 16
foot floating wall.

Range by Maggie Casey / Jeff Stockbridge Archival Pigment Print on Canvas

13' x 4'
Ink, Canvas

According to Casey, Range doesn’t ring as true in print as it does in per-

son. 1t 13-feet wide, it features 2 pixels per inch in some places and 13
pixels per inch in others, which creates an optical illusion.

###

PR contact: Jennifer James, APR

pr@cityartscenter.org, (405) 951-0000