EMILY BLAIR QUINN
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STATEMENT

Emily Blair Quinn creates realistic oil paintings of  psychological landscapes in which dollhouses and figurines are metaphors for the mind.  Rooms exist within rooms and floors of the house represent levels of the psyche.  She paints disquiet depictions of muted wallpaper patterns, endless rows of chairs, and windows that lead into rooms orderly and uncomfortable, nostalgic and regretful.  While the style of the objects is idealized, the overall atmosphere is too unsettling to depict a glamorous view of the past.  These spaces double as theater sets where objects are characters trapped in a cycle of mundane performance.  In the world of her paintings, life is a permanent talent show and success depends on one’s ability to act on cue when performing one’s part.  
Quinn's work is playful but has a dark side.  Her new series currently in progress depicts figurines as ghosts.  Brightly colored plastic dollhouses and melting, translucent figurines heighten the level of façade in a way that is sweet, but haunting.  The dark side of domesticity exists in the unanticipated moments when whimsy turns to horror: when an environment or relationship that once felt secure becomes confining, stifling, or claustrophobic; when a fake laugh suddenly sounds sincere; when silence is comforting in one moment but deafening in the next.
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BIO

Emily Blair Quinn received an MFA in Painting/Drawing from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2016.  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, 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. Quinn works and lives in Kansas City, MO.

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EDUCATION

2016    M.F.A. Painting and Drawing, University of Colorado Boulder 
2013    B.F.A. Painting and Drawing, Auburn University, Auburn, AL
2010   Auburn University Art in Rome Summer Study Abroad Program, Rome, Italy

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2020    Strangers in Stranger Lands, Marquee Projects, Bellport, NY 
2019    New Works by Emily Blair Quinn, The Hallway Gallery, Saxapahaw, NC (solo)
            30 Under 30, Viridian Artists, New York, NY 

2018    Optical Instruments, Joshua Tree Art Gallery, Joshua Tree, CA

2017    IT’S A SIGN—Exhibition III, Marquee Projects, Bellport, NY 

            IT’S A SIGN—Exhibition I, Marquee Projects, Bellport, NY
 
            
Tran-‘zi-sh(ə)n & ‘Chānj, The Dairy Arts Center, Boulder, CO

           
 I Confine Myself, Nalanda Gallery, Naropa University, Boulder, CO (solo)

2016    M.F.A. Exhibition, CU Art Museum, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO

           The Nowness: King Exhibition, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO; 

            Play Nice: Visual Notions on Gender, Good Thieves Press, Denver, CO

2015    Vacancy? No. Newhouse Hotel, Denver, CO

2014     B14 Biennial Exhibition, Wiregrass Museum of Art, Dothan, AL 

             Unique Views, Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment Center, Huntsville, AL

2013    Tell It Slant, B.F.A. Senior Project Exhibition, Biggin Gallery, Auburn, AL

            Student Fine Art Juried Exhibition, Biggin Gallery, Auburn, AL (Juror: Paddy Johnson)

             DADA! Biggin Gallery, Auburn, AL     

2012    Maya Angelou, Phenomenal Woman: A Student Juried Exhibition of Artworks on
            Paper, Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, Auburn, AL

            9th Annual CityFest Juried Art Exhibition, Auburn, AL
    
 2011    Student Juried Exhibition, Biggin Gallery, Auburn University, AL (Juror Peter Plagens)

RESIDENCIES AND AWARDS

2020       Cha North Artist Residency, Pine Plains, NY (postponed due to COVID-19)

2018       Vermont Studio Center Artist Residency, Johnson, VT 

               Joshua Tree Highlands Artist in Residence, Joshua Tree, CA

2016      Art and Art History Department Scholarship, University of Colorado Boulder, 
              Boulder, CO    

              Painting and Drawing Area Scholarship, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO

2013      Raeford B. Liles Art Scholarship, Auburn University, Auburn, AL

              Department of Art Merit Award, Auburn University, Auburn, AL

              Student Juried Exhibition Department of Art Award, Auburn, AL

PROFESSIONAL AND TEACHING EXPERIENCE 

2014-16 Graduate Instructor of Record, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO
              (Foundations, Drawing for Non-Majors, Painting for Non-Majors, Basic Painting/Figure Painting) 


2016       Artist Talk and Workshop, Literature and Arts Festival, Boulder, CO


2015       Art Instructor, Longmont Museum, Longmont, CO


2014       Guest Artist, Alabama Center for the Arts, Decatur, AL 

2013       Education Intern, Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, VT 

2012       Education Intern, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL 

2011-12   Workshop Assistant to Zdenko Krtic, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL 

PRESS AND PUBLICATIONS 
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2020    "Delicious Quarantine: Strangers in Stranger Lands at Marquee Projects, Bellport, NY", Elizabeth Johnson,           Delicious Line, July 20
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            "'Strangers in Stranger Lands' will ease your isolation", Linda Leuzzi, Long Island Advance, June 25

2019      “Duet” painting published in Studio Visit Magazine, 2019. 

2018     “Synergy in Action: Emerging Artists Intersect at Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residence,” Barbara Gothard, Art Patron Magazine, Winter 2018

2017     “Peeling Apart the Meanings of ‘It’s a Sign’ in a Four-in-One Exhibition,” Andrew Botsford, Hampton’s Art Hub January 30 

2016     "Vacancy? No. Checks Into the Newhouse Hotel on Friday the 13th" Lauren Archuletta, Westword. November 12 



All art work, text, and images contained in this site are copyright © 2020 Emily Blair Quinn
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