Instagram: @emilyblairquinn
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.
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.
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.
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.
| quinn_exhibitioncv_2020.pdf |
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
2020 "Delicious Quarantine: Strangers in Stranger Lands at Marquee Projects, Bellport, NY", Elizabeth Johnson, Delicious Line, July 20
"'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
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
2020 "Delicious Quarantine: Strangers in Stranger Lands at Marquee Projects, Bellport, NY", Elizabeth Johnson, Delicious Line, July 20
"'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