Irish artist David Quinn works across multiple canvases at once, composing abstract pieces in a regular format of 8 x 5 inches – the size of his sketchbook he used when he was a student. The resulting pieces appear as visual haikus, sharing a universal form and offering endlessly variable imagery; each a unique piece, yet part of a wider whole. The familiar format allows Quinn to focus entirely on the painting itself, moving beyond conscious thought to reach an instinctive, meditative state, where the understated, multilayered surfaces of his works arise.
Quinn was born in Dublin in 1971 and lives and works in Sillelagh, County Wicklow. He studied visual communications at Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) from 1989 to 1993 before embarking on his art career in 1995. His paintings have been exhibited internationally for three decades, and can be found in collections worldwide. He has held solo shows at Gana Art Nineone in Seoul, Rossicontemporary in Brussels, and Purdy Hicks in London.
"At first glance the works of David Quinn appear to be simple works, minimal and understated, but at a second look you can see the layers built like strata in sedimentary rock. Each layer is a page, a painting that Quinn has stuck own, added to and covered up. They are abstract and yet, they represent time worked and time spent in contemplation. The finished paintings are summaries of the process of their creation: concentrated forms or essences.
Riann Coulter
Curator and Art Historian
"intense small works...that hover between drawing and sculpture, to share something of the aesthetic of Roger Ackling and Agnes Martin.”
Sue Hubbard
Art writer
"Each finished piece embodies a momentary, fleeting wonder that beauty can be won back from time."
Aidan Dunne
Art critic
"Quinn’s darker, delicate abstracts keep calling you back till you wonder why you’re falling in love”
Gemma Tipton
Art writer