CASEY CURRAN: TIDAL SKY to Open at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in October

Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) has announced Casey Curran: Tidal Sky, a new two-gallery exhibition opening October 11, 2025, and running through February 22, 2026. The immersive show explores themes of collapse, survival, and transformation, drawing from historical references and present-day anxieties.

One gallery will house a large-scale installation inspired by Théodore Géricault’s 1818 painting The Raft of the Medusa, reimagined as a physical environment that invites visitors to step directly into the artwork. Curran, whose practice frequently investigates impermanence and transformation, uses the 19th-century painting as a framework to reflect on contemporary crises.

“The signs and signifiers depicted in Gericault’s The Raft of the Medusa resonate with my ongoing interests as an artist—the way it captures desperation, survival and hope all in a single moment,” said Curran. “The figures are shown trapped between death and deliverance, and there is a perspective that can be read into the emotion of these bodies that feels ever more timely.”

Curran noted that recent years—marked by the pandemic, political instability, and climate anxiety—informed the conceptual basis of the work. “I want visitors to feel unsettled at first, like they’ve walked into the middle of a story that’s still unfolding,” he said. “There’s no fixed narrative beyond the competing elements, but I hope the work creates space for personal reflection, especially around our current uncertainties.”

The exhibition explores the fragile line between beauty and decay, placing viewers inside a tableau of endurance and speculation. “Tidal Sky suggests that endings aren’t absolute,” Curran said. “What falls apart might also become material for something new: a scaffold for the future to be built around.”

A second gallery will feature Curran’s kinetic sculptures on a more intimate scale. Many of the pieces are interactive, incorporating hand cranks that allow visitors to activate their movement.

“Many of the artworks will have a hand crank, which introduces an interactive component by inviting visitors to create the movement in the sculpture,” said curator Julie Ganas, SMoCA’s curator of engagement and digital initiatives. “There’s something hauntingly beautiful about Casey’s work. It causes you to slow down and soak in the intricate details and mechanics.”

Curran is also known for his collaborations with fashion designer Iris van Herpen, including kinetic wearable sculptures featured at Paris Fashion Week and the Met Gala. His recent lotus-butterfly kinetic dress, worn by Mona Patel at last year’s Met Gala, exemplifies his interdisciplinary approach.

“However attendees interact and interpret the artwork, even if someone leaves with a different meaning than intended, that’s a success,” Curran said. “I’m interested in ambiguity—creating space for multiple truths to coexist.”

Casey Curran: Tidal Sky is organized by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and curated by Julie Ganas. SMoCA is located at 7374 E. Second Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85251. The museum is open Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Admission is $13–$16 for non-members; $10–$13 for students, seniors (65+), and veterans; and free for Scottsdale Arts ONE Members, healthcare workers, first responders, and patrons under 18. The museum offers pay-what-you-wish admission every Thursday and on the second Saturday of each month.

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