Daniel Callis: Casting Nets

Casting Nets alludes to warp and weft, the two basic components used in weaving to turn thread or yarn into fabric: an organic, flexible, ever expanding matrix with points of contact and connection. Daniel Callis produced the majority of these works during an artist residency in 2017 and 2019 in Tetouan, Morocco. This immersed the visiting artist to the culture and beauty of Morocco and the artists and master artisans of Tetouan. During the residency, he found himself, a postmodern practicing Anglican, cloistered away in a studio space in the heart of the ancient walled city in North Africa during the Muslim celebration of Ramadan. As he worked, each day was marked by cyclical calls to prayer from ancient mosques reminding him of the Liturgy of the Hours in the Western faith tradition.

Both Christian and Islamic narratives inform the 22 works in the exhibition. Casting Nets is about the many points that connect us, and the expansive possibilities of more.

Image caption: Daniel Callis, I’ll meet you (in the morning), 2017, Oil on canvas, 60 x 48 inches, Courtesy of the artist