June 11th – October 31, 2026

Exquisite Corpse Deux reimagines a Cassilhaus exhibition first presented in 2017, incorporating newly acquired works from the Cassilhaus Collection. Inspired by the Surrealist parlour game Exquisite Corpse, curators Ellen Cassilly and Lacey Haslam explore the collection's portrait-rich and photo-centric holdings, combining heads, torsos, and feet from disparate artworks to create unexpected composite figures. The resulting juxtapositions generate surprising relationships and fantastical narratives, inviting viewers to experience the collection through a lens of curiosity, play, and discovery.

The original exhibition was inspired by a portfolio of eighteen lithographs acquired from the Tamarind Institute, the renowned fine-art print workshop in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Over a fifteen-year period, visiting artists waiting "on press" were invited to participate in an ongoing game of exquisite corpse, each contributing a rendering of a head, torso, or legs and feet without knowledge of the other participants' creations.

That portfolio prompted Ellen to revisit the Cassilhaus Collection in search of hidden "corpses," examining familiar works with fresh eyes. The challenge was both playful and revelatory: to identify connections and contrasts in subject matter, mood, and form that could be assembled into entirely new visual conversations. The artists themselves, of course, were not complicit in these collaborations! To expand the project, Ellen invited artist and curator Lacey Haslam to bring an outsider's perspective to the collection. Together, they printed images of selected works, shuffled them like a deck of cards, and experimented with countless combinations, discovering pairings that revealed unexpected affinities and delightfully surreal relationships. The installations in this exhibition are the result of that process.

Exquisite Corpse (or Cadavre Exquis) is a collaborative game in which participants contribute portions of a drawing, text, animal, object, or figure without seeing the contributions that came before. The completed work, revealed only at the end, often produces surprising, humorous, or uncanny results. The game's name derives from an early round that generated the phrase Le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau ("The exquisite corpse will drink the new wine"). Since its invention by the Surrealists in the 1920s, artists and writers have embraced the concept as a means of fostering chance, collaboration, and imaginative discovery.

We extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who helped bring this exhibition to life. Enormous thanks to Ellen for conceiving and shepherding this project. Special thanks to Lacey for her extraordinary efforts in developing both the exhibition and this gallery guide; to Frank for his invaluable organization, insight, and expertise; and to Luta O'Sullivan for enthusiastically tackling lighting, installation, painting, and countless other tasks from her very first day as a member of the Cassilhaus team. Finally, thank you to Jaco, whose insistence on occupying laps provided a welcome reminder that even the busiest curators occasionally need to pause and enjoy the moment.

Lacey Haslam & Ellen Cassilly
June 2026

View the gallery guide here.

Private appointments for individuals, schools, or other groups upon request. Please email frank@cassilhaus.com.