Lincoln Arts Institute presents the works of John Cassidy
Reception to be held September 9th

[September 03, 2021]   For their September presentation, Lincoln Arts Institute will host a solo exhibition of Bloomington professional artist John Cassidy, whose art estate is being cared for by Matt Erickson, owner of cometogetherspace.

An opening reception will be held on Thursday, September 9, 2021 from 5 to 8 pm at the LAI Gallery, 112 S. Mclean St., Lincoln. The gallery is open every Friday from 5 to 8 pm for viewing.

John Cassidy was born in Peoria on July 8, 1964 and passed on February 17, 2017.

Friend and fellow artist, Matt states, “He was the definition of the Bohemian Artist, living in his studio at 510 E. Washington #224, Bloomington for over 20 years, constantly learning, always turning his feelings and views into works of art. He worked at the best used bookstore in town (now gone), and the best video store in town (also gone) while spending all his money on art materials, books, music, and films.

“His great friend and fellow painter Roger Harris once told him, ‘You’re doing two things right- you don’t live under a viaduct, and you don’t pay utilities’ as keys to a successful Art Bum existence. He worked in a wide variety of two-dimensional media which became drawings and paintings of still lives, portraits, abstractions, and Landstractions- or what I call views of John’s World.

“He was continuously trying to cure or release the madness within his day or show us the beauty we may be missing in our surroundings. If you visited his studio, he would be either playing incredible music, a most interesting film, or reading a book you should be.

“He had a dark sense of humor that routinely came out in his booming voice and his canvas, board, or paper and always lifted my spirit.”

Cassidy held a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English from Bradley University and many of his works and titles are literary driven. In his art there are of course connections to other artists whether it was creating his own Morandi (“because I’ll never afford one.”) or stating his personal distaste for a certain one.

When he started a new medium such as pastels or the centuries-old method of encaustics, he immersed himself in the colors and possibilities, making samples and buying more and more like a junkie.
 

His enthusiasm for what he was discovering was pure joy even if it was to then be used to show us the incredible pain of a toothache or cancer. John passed away in his sleep surrounded by his books in a little loft nook in his studio, he had been creating every day and left us with over 700 works to enjoy.

The work exhibited at LAI will be a sample of John’s unique perspective.

[Marcia Cook]