Casey Haims's Projects

BFA Student

Major: Painting

Graduation Year: 2021

Artist Statement:

My work uses the human form intertwined with other imagery to create a visual stream of consciousness. I see my work existing through a psychedelic and street art lens. It is psychedelic in nature because of my content which includes identity, reality, inner thought processes, my use of extensive color palettes, and the imagery I choose to include. I also see it existing in the realm of street art because of my use of large/flat areas of color, graphic line-work, large scale, lettering, and my use of layering and collage.
I think of each piece as a large sketchbook page. I call my pieces the never-ending paintings because of the permission I give myself to never finish them. I can have paintings laying around for 10 years and just add on to it whenever I feel inclined to do so. This idea loosens up my grip on the outcome of a painting, and helps me to be fully intuitive in my materials and imagery. I see them as a documentation of an inner dialogue I had with myself, in a specific moment, while working on each artwork.
Another element that exists in my paintings is humor and the idea of lowbrow art. I have never taken life too seriously and this clearly reflects in my artwork. The language I choose to use and the imagery I include all work together to mirror the humor that exists in my personality. I never try to hide mistakes, but rather blatantly highlight, and even poke fun of them directly on the piece. This freedom and lightheartedness has given me the ability to have fun with painting and to let go of the rigidity I had for so long that was turning art into something stressful and toxic.

Biography:

Casey Haims is an interdisciplinary artist, mostly working on large scale paintings and installations. Her work delves into the inner workings of her mind and existence, while searching for their connection through a psychedelic and street art lens. As the world moves on around us at a rapid, ever changing rate, she seeks to take a viewer out of their norm and into a neon colored journey through her thoughts and ideas that can be found tucked away in the recess of her own head.
Another medium that is important to her art practice is tattooing. She looks to take her paintings to the next level by permanently etching them into someone’s skin. While very different from her painting process, she sees the same mind/body connections in both actions. Tattooing is a very intimate process between two people. The trust that is put into you by a client is immense, considering the permanence of the action. The ability to indelibly preserve her artwork on a walking canvas, while simultaneously being able to make someone feel more comfortable and happy with the skin they are in, is what draws her to this medium.
She grew up in the city of Stamford CT, where the arts were almost non-existent in schools and really had to teach herself everything she knows. Her parents and grandparents were very much into the arts and took her to museums from a very young age. At age 5, she was bringing sketchbooks along to the Met almost every weekend to sit alongside her dad and sketch everything from Greek statues to Picasso.

She now attends Maine College of Art in Portland Maine and will be graduating in 2021.