Ann QUINN
Shortlisted 2009

work shown : Almond Trees (2008)
Oil on board
31.5 x 51 cm
(click on picture to see larger image)

Project

I am currently preparing for my solo exhibition « Different Silences », which will take place in the Ashford Gallery in March 2009. This is an important opportunity to showcase my work, to exhibit there is an ambition I have had for years. I want to use the best of my abilities to produce my strongest work to date. The award would relieve me of the need to earn money by part time teaching, which would free up my time in the critical months leading up to the exhibition.

I have also been offered a two month residency at Aras Eanna, on Inis Oirr in County Galway, in June and July of 2009. This will be a very important opportunity to re-evaluate my work practice after a year of deadline-driven work. Travelling is an important investment for me as it introduces me to new landscapes and experiences which could be future paintings. Two months living on Inis Oirr in the height of summer would be an unforgettable experience but I cannot undertake it without financial support.

Artistic Vision

Everything I paint I must see with my own eyes and the paintings I make are a direct response to the different environments I have been in. Using photographs as an initial source material, I aim to create an otherworldly atmosphere in my paintings through the loose play of paint. Over the last year the sky has been the main focus of my work, whether it be turbulent Irish skies or the exotic skies of foreign places. By lowering or raising the horizon line I have tried to achieve a dramatic confrontation between sky and land. In my current paintings, the landscape is becoming a stage for me. I feel it is empty without the living presence of a bird or human.

I react to nature with both fear and awe. When I am in a strange new landscape I feel it could overpower me easily and take my life away. Such as once on a wild coast in Kerry I made myself take a step closer to the edge to hear the elements. I kept turning around in circles to watch my back as if nature was going to creep up behind me. Or once while trekking in the Simean mountains in Ethiopia I stepped outside my hut during the night, suddenly saw huge clusters of stars like heavy jewellery hanging in the sky. Moved by a mixture of shock and reverence, I kept my head down until I went back inside. I was ready to look at them the following night but never got the chance. All subsequent nights the stars were concealed in clouds. Very often I can relive that glimpse of the stars in my imagination and through my paintings.

Website : http://www.annquinn.ie