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Photo by Sean T Johnston
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STATEMENT
Emily Blair Quinn’s realistic oil portraits depict glistening, ghostly, and fractured female figurines in enigmatic emotional states ranging from firey passion to silent panic. The scale of the painting corresponds with the figure’s emotional state. When she experiences empowerment, freedom, and ecstasy, she takes up space on a large canvas like a goddess or a monument. If she feels powerless, fearful, or sad, then she is confined to a small canvas. Painting is an act of meditation in which Quinn examines the complexity, mystery, and nuances of human emotion and permits people to express themselves without judgment.
Quinn's process begins with a treasure hunt for figurines that appear haunted, sad, pensive, sexual, or otherwise easy to anthropomorphize. To elucidate for the viewer what she sees in the figurines, she arranges them in theatrically lit scenes, at times transforming them through paint, wax, and resin, before photographing them and using them as the basis for her paintings. She uses bright colors and dark humor to engage viewers, making her work a catalyst for uncensored conversations about vulnerability, empathy, and connection.
BIO
Emily Blair Quinn was born in Decatur, Alabama in 1990. The artist received her MFA from the University of Colorado in Boulder in 2016 and her BFA from Auburn University in Alabama (2013).
Solo exhibitions of Quinn’s work include: Silent Opera for the Unsound Mind at Marquee Projects in Bellport, NY (2021) and I Confine Myself at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado (2017).
Group exhibitions that have shown Quinn’s work have taken place at Marquee Projects in Bellport, NY (2022, 2020, 2018, and 2017); High Noon Gallery in New York City (2022); the San Bernadino County Museum in Redlands, CA (2021); the Kansas City Artist Coalition (2021, 2020); Viridian Artists in New York City (2019); Joshua Tree Art Gallery in Joshua Tree, CA (2018); and The Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, CO (2017); and the Wiregrass Museum of Art in Dothan, AL (2014).
Quinn’s work has been published in New American Paintings, Create Magazine, Studio Visit Magazine, and VoyageKC Magazine.
Quinn was selected to attend residencies at ChaNorth in Pine Plains, NY (2022), Joshua Tree Highlands in Joshua Tree, CA (2018) and the Vermont Studio Center (2018.)
Quinn’s work is included in the collection at the Bunker Art Space in West Palm Beach, FL and in numerous private collections across the United States and in Europe.
Quinn is represented by Marquee Projects in Bellport, NY.
Quinn lives and works in Kansas City.
Emily Blair Quinn’s realistic oil portraits depict glistening, ghostly, and fractured female figurines in enigmatic emotional states ranging from firey passion to silent panic. The scale of the painting corresponds with the figure’s emotional state. When she experiences empowerment, freedom, and ecstasy, she takes up space on a large canvas like a goddess or a monument. If she feels powerless, fearful, or sad, then she is confined to a small canvas. Painting is an act of meditation in which Quinn examines the complexity, mystery, and nuances of human emotion and permits people to express themselves without judgment.
Quinn's process begins with a treasure hunt for figurines that appear haunted, sad, pensive, sexual, or otherwise easy to anthropomorphize. To elucidate for the viewer what she sees in the figurines, she arranges them in theatrically lit scenes, at times transforming them through paint, wax, and resin, before photographing them and using them as the basis for her paintings. She uses bright colors and dark humor to engage viewers, making her work a catalyst for uncensored conversations about vulnerability, empathy, and connection.
BIO
Emily Blair Quinn was born in Decatur, Alabama in 1990. The artist received her MFA from the University of Colorado in Boulder in 2016 and her BFA from Auburn University in Alabama (2013).
Solo exhibitions of Quinn’s work include: Silent Opera for the Unsound Mind at Marquee Projects in Bellport, NY (2021) and I Confine Myself at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado (2017).
Group exhibitions that have shown Quinn’s work have taken place at Marquee Projects in Bellport, NY (2022, 2020, 2018, and 2017); High Noon Gallery in New York City (2022); the San Bernadino County Museum in Redlands, CA (2021); the Kansas City Artist Coalition (2021, 2020); Viridian Artists in New York City (2019); Joshua Tree Art Gallery in Joshua Tree, CA (2018); and The Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, CO (2017); and the Wiregrass Museum of Art in Dothan, AL (2014).
Quinn’s work has been published in New American Paintings, Create Magazine, Studio Visit Magazine, and VoyageKC Magazine.
Quinn was selected to attend residencies at ChaNorth in Pine Plains, NY (2022), Joshua Tree Highlands in Joshua Tree, CA (2018) and the Vermont Studio Center (2018.)
Quinn’s work is included in the collection at the Bunker Art Space in West Palm Beach, FL and in numerous private collections across the United States and in Europe.
Quinn is represented by Marquee Projects in Bellport, NY.
Quinn lives and works in Kansas City.
For inquiries, email emilyblairquinn@gmail.com or contact Marquee Projects (info@marqueeprojects.org)