I direct the focus in my paintings to the viewer experience, and away from the notion of the painting itself as a bearer of content. Discordant components and qualities in each painting pose questions for the viewer, suspending resolution, and provide a space for the viewer’s own meditations. The idea is to give, not tell, and for the painting to provide an experience that unfolds over time. The writings of Jean-François Lyotard and Anne Carson, the poems of Paul Celan, the works of Robert Irwin, the films of Nathaniel Dorsky, and my readings in Buddhism and haiku all resonate in my work and have informed its evolution.

 

  

Christopher Quirk’s paintings have been exhibited since 1990, in galleries both in the United States and abroad, including the Armory for the Arts (Santa Fe, NM), the Walsh Gallery at Seton Hall University (South Orange, NJ), the Atlantic Center for the Arts (New Smyrna Beach, FL), the Alice K. Rogers Gallery at St. John's University (Collegeville, MN), Around the Coyote Gallery (Chicago) and Temple University Rome Gallery. He has received grant awards from The Kittredge Fund, of Augusta, Maine; Change, Inc., of Captiva Florida; and the Artists' Fellowship, of New York City.

He holds an M.F.A. in Painting from the Tyler School of Art in Rome and Philadelphia, and an M.A. in Liberal Education from the Graduate Institute of St. John’s College in Santa Fe. He and the artist Amy Madden married in Montagnana, Italy, in 2002.

 

Writing:
Concise Biography (pdf)


Curriculum Vitae

Solo or two-person exhibitions (*upcoming)

2009* 1708 Gallery, Richmond, Virginia.
2009* LB Project Space, New York, New York.
2000 Antigone, Alice K. Rogers Gallery of St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota.

Group exhibitions (*upcoming)

2008* BCB Art, Hudson, New York.
2008* Night of a Thousand Drawings, Artists Space, New York, New York.
2008 Painting: Process, Walsh Gallery, Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey. Curated by Jacqueline Bekiaris and Maria Silvestri.
2005 NurtureArt at Spike Gallery, New York, New York.
2001 Inside/Out, Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
1998 Emily Lowe Gallery, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York.
1997 St. John’s University Gallery, Queens, New York.
1994 Temple Gallery, Temple University, Rome, Italy.
1993 Around the Coyote Festival Exhibition, Chicago, Illinois.
1993 Around the Coyote Gallery, Chicago, Illinois.
1993 No Palace Studio, Chicago, Illinois.
1990 Armory for the Arts Invitational, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Awards, Residencies

2002 Grant, Kittredge Fund, Augusta, Maine.
2001 Grant, Artists’ Fellowship, Inc., New York, New York.
2001 Grant, Change, Inc. New York, New York.
2001 Residency, Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
1996 Teaching Assistant Scholarship, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1995 Teaching Assistant Scholarship, Tyler School of Art, Rome, Italy.

Education

1996 M.F.A. Painting, Tyler School of Art, Rome, Italy and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1989 M.A. Liberal Education, Graduate Institute of St. John’s College, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

 
All content © Christopher Quirk 2005-2008