Walt Cassidy

Walt Cassidy (born November 21, 1972) is a New York City-based artist, author and curator notable for his contemporary art, books and participation in the New York City Club Kids culture. His exploratory art, writing and design emphasizes narrative abstraction and aestheticism while addressing autobiographical themes of subculture, gender, drugs, trauma and transformation.

Walt Cassidy Studio (Design)

In 2014, Walt Cassidy Studio was established as a unisex brand encompassing jewelry, silkscreen printing and hand painted murals.

The jewelry gained attention through social media platforms, such as Instagram,

Walt Cassidy Studio created jewelry for Derek Lam's Spring Summer 2016 collection, and has collaborated with the Long Life China Company and the Brazilian brand Melissa. The design works have been featured at The Limited Edition (Miami), The Feathered (Mexico City) and Maison 10 (New York).

In 2016, Walt Cassidy Studio began a series of interior based murals for private collections, largely focused on atmospheric color storms and muscular flower motifs. The murals extended to public spaces such as Leslie-Lohman Museum, The Pod Hotel and HOWM Restaurant at Selina Hotel in New York City.

Artworks

Cassidy's artwork evolved from an interest in still life photography, sculpture, and illustration. The Kitchen Spells (2005) and The Inferior Orbs (2006) were first exhibited in The Believers at MASS MOCA

The Protective Motif, Cassidy's first solo show in New York, debuted in 2010 at Invisible-Exports gallery in Manhattan's Lower East Side. The show included The Paper Photographs (2008), ink drawings, and the wall based sculptures, Nail Bomb (2009) and Through (2010). Cassidy works in cut brass, weaving, stripping, and hooking abstract patterns and textures on a wood frames. These works are minimalist in material but maximalist in emotion, and operate where autobiography meets methodology.

"Waltpaper"

Throughout the 1990s, Walt Cassidy (then called Waltpaper, a reference to his early illustration work He lived at the Chelsea Hotel during this time period.

In October 2019, Cassidy’s first book, New York: Club Kids , was published by Damiani. The book documents New York City’s club culture of the 1990s through a collection of photographs and commentary.

It includes over 500 images by 18 photographers and artists, depicting nightlife, fashion, club interiors, and participants associated with the scene. The work also outlines the development of the Club Kids movement and its presence in the city’s cultural landscape during that period. Cassidy has described the book as a reflection on the creative community surrounding the Club Kids scene in New York.

Exhibitions 2006 Gay Art Now, curated by Jack Pierson, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York City 2007 The Believers, curated by Elizabeth Thomas and Nato Thompson, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, MA 2008 Womanizer, curated by Kembra Pfahler, Deitch Projects, New York City 2010 The Protective Motif, Invisible-Exports Gallery, New York City 2010 Closed for Installation, 303 Gallery, New York City 2011 The Unseen, curated by Adela Leibowitz, Torrance Art Museum, California 2012 The Displaced Person, Invisible-Exports Gallery, New York City 2013 The Wishing Well, Galeria Melissa, New York City 2013 Drawing Down The Moon, curated by Andrew Suggs, VOX POPULI, Philadelphia 2013 ARTCORE, Galerie Melilli Manchinetti, Berlin 2014 Trip The Lights Fantastic, curated by Natalie Kates, High Line Gallery, New York City 2014 The Botanica, curated by AA Bronson and Michael Bühler-Rose, Invisible Exports, New York City 2015 Interface: Queer Artists Forming Communities Through Social Media, curated by Walt Cessna, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, New York City 2020 Things On Walls, curated by Benjamin Tischer / New Discretions, Affective Care, New York City 2022 The Dance Of The Plumeria, Mural Installation, Selina Hotel, New York City