quinn mcnichol

Statement

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. 

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 am 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. Each morning, I pull a tarot card that gives me a message to contemplate throughout my day. 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

quinn mcnichol grew up in Glenside, PA, and earned a BFA in Fine Art from Pennsylvania College of Art and Design in 2012. Being a student and resident with the Mount Gretna School of Art (MGSoA) over several summers was exceptionally influential to their creative practice and discipline, as was a course they took in Philadelphia about growing and utilizing medicinal herbs. They have also participated in programs including the Emerging Artist in Residence (EAR) program at Millersville University, Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution (VACI), and the Vermont Studio Center, and have painted murals for the Philadelphia Folk Festival for over 10 years. In 2021 quinn earned their MFA from the Painting + Drawing program at University of Washington’s School of Art + Art History + Design in Seattle, WA. quinn was most recently a resident at El Sur in Tlalpan CDMX and Wonder Domes in Wonder Valley CA. 

Website / https://quinnmcnichol.com