Instagram: @emilyblairquinn
BIO
Emily Blair Quinn received an MFA in Painting/Drawing from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2016 and a BFA from Auburn University in 2013. Her work has shown nationally at galleries and museums such as The Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, CO, the Wiregrass Museum of Art in Dothan, AL, Viridian Artists in Chelsea, NYC, Joshua Tree Gallery in Joshua Tree, CA and Marquee Projects in Bellport, NY. In 2018, she received scholarships to attend artist residencies at the Vermont Studio Center and Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency. Upcoming opportunities in 2021 include a solo show at Marquee Projects in Bellport, NY and a residency at ChaNorth in Pine Plains, NY. Quinn works and lives in Kansas City.
BIO
Emily Blair Quinn received an MFA in Painting/Drawing from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2016 and a BFA from Auburn University in 2013. Her work has shown nationally at galleries and museums such as The Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, CO, the Wiregrass Museum of Art in Dothan, AL, Viridian Artists in Chelsea, NYC, Joshua Tree Gallery in Joshua Tree, CA and Marquee Projects in Bellport, NY. In 2018, she received scholarships to attend artist residencies at the Vermont Studio Center and Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency. Upcoming opportunities in 2021 include a solo show at Marquee Projects in Bellport, NY and a residency at ChaNorth in Pine Plains, NY. Quinn works and lives in Kansas City.
STATEMENT
What would it feel like to watch yourself during the unanticipated moments in your life in which whimsy turns to horror? To see the look on your face when you realize that an environment or relationship that once felt secure has become claustrophobic? To explore these questions and more, Emily Blair Quinn creates psychological landscapes in which figurines, dollhouses, and miniatures are metaphors for the mind. She paints disquiet depictions of surreal domestic spaces in which shiny, melting, translucent, ghostly, and fractured figurines appear to be on the edge of a mental breakdown; their emotional and mental states are manifested through various stages of physical collapse. Her recent work is often born from one of the following experiments with figurines: pouring and dripping melted wax on them; laboriously painting intricate china patterns on them before breaking them; partially glueing them back together; casting them in resin and shining multi-colored lights on them; casting them in wax and burning them as candles; fusing multiple wax figurines together; and building custom figurines out of clay. The figurines are arranged and theatrically lit in diorama-like scenes that serve as the still life for Quinn’s paintings. These painted scenes double as theater sets that allow viewers to project movement or narrative, but are frozen in time, making the overall atmosphere one of stillness and silent anticipation. Quinn uses dark humor and bright colors to engage viewers, making her work a catalyst for conversation that acknowledges and normalizes feelings of isolation, loneliness, and loss.
What would it feel like to watch yourself during the unanticipated moments in your life in which whimsy turns to horror? To see the look on your face when you realize that an environment or relationship that once felt secure has become claustrophobic? To explore these questions and more, Emily Blair Quinn creates psychological landscapes in which figurines, dollhouses, and miniatures are metaphors for the mind. She paints disquiet depictions of surreal domestic spaces in which shiny, melting, translucent, ghostly, and fractured figurines appear to be on the edge of a mental breakdown; their emotional and mental states are manifested through various stages of physical collapse. Her recent work is often born from one of the following experiments with figurines: pouring and dripping melted wax on them; laboriously painting intricate china patterns on them before breaking them; partially glueing them back together; casting them in resin and shining multi-colored lights on them; casting them in wax and burning them as candles; fusing multiple wax figurines together; and building custom figurines out of clay. The figurines are arranged and theatrically lit in diorama-like scenes that serve as the still life for Quinn’s paintings. These painted scenes double as theater sets that allow viewers to project movement or narrative, but are frozen in time, making the overall atmosphere one of stillness and silent anticipation. Quinn uses dark humor and bright colors to engage viewers, making her work a catalyst for conversation that acknowledges and normalizes feelings of isolation, loneliness, and loss.