Statement / Bio

A painting practice creeps beyond the edges of a canvas: its imagery converses with the tangible world, leaning into objects that are sculpted, words written on pages in a quiet book, or particular things arranged in a particular way. 
A body which once turned inward and covered itself carefully slowly unfolds, begins to feel the ground it lives on and flow with the air around it. 
A spirit grows wild, even after it’s been tamed by repeated prayers, sacred names and holy waters.

In the studio, the act of drawing, painting, carving, cutting, shaping, and gluing is a way to bridge my daily fears and anxieties with a dreaming, playful mind. This brings me to a settled space, where I feel able to uproot and examine my lived or inherited sensations and experiences. I imagine art to be a regenerative, healing magic. I listen to folk music that reminds me of my dad, and I read books that recall my mother. News and daydreams and longings for an unattainably perfect future merge with these sounds and words. My medicinal herb garden grows slowly, protected by mugwort and yarrow. Contained inside these parentheses of my life, I make art that wonders how my experiences affect my white/pink body/mind as I move through space to interact with plants and other humans. Through this creative examination of what exists inside of and around me, I heal from any pain that has become stuck in my body, becoming a part of the greater healing that is so drastically needed on this hurting earth.


BIO

b. 1989, quinn mcnichol grew up in Glenside, PA. During their high school years they engaged in independent study with Philadelphia artist Marcia Jones, and earned a BFA in Fine Art from Pennsylvania College of Art and Design in 2012. They have since participated in a number of programs and residencies including the Emerging Artist in Residence (EAR) program at Millersville University, Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution (VACI), Vermont Studio Center and Mount Gretna School of Art (MGSoA). In addition to these formal studies, quinn spent a summer visiting Romanian artist Alice Schwager in her home studio to explore spiritual art therapies, expanding their emotional perception of their creative practice.

In 2021 quinn earned their MFA from the University of Washington’s School of Art + Art History + Design in Seattle, WA. Post-graduation they traveled extensively around the continental US and Mexico, participating in residencies at El Sur in Tlalpan CDMX and Wonder Domes in Wonder Valley CA. quinn currently lives in Seattle WA and is a member of SOIL, an artist-run gallery located in Pioneer Square.