Tom Quinlavin - Working on Paper

Tom Quinlavin

Working on paper was essential to my development as an artist. The smooth and fast properties of paper meant I could take more risks. Despite several moves, I have been fortunate to have retained several pieces of work on paper from the past forty or so years.

A friend asked what the lines are about. The purpose is to contain the energy of the shapes they encircle – like a levee, holding back. In defining the space this way, it pushes the contrast between colors and the movement - or rhythm.

Early on in my career everything I did was about pushing energy out, energy expelled. Or as artist Ted Stamm used to say, it is “energy transferred.” So, sensing a need for some control, I started containing the source. Years later I consciously started encircling shapes. This essentially allowed me to draw by squirting paint straight from the tube, which is such a great feeling.   — Tom Quinlavin

Untitled, 1981

QUINLAVIN 

40 YEARS ON PAPER 

October 3 – 26, 2019 

Artist Reception & Open House

Saturday, October 5  •  2–5pm