Tana Quincy Arcega

Instagram: @quincy.tana

Website: http://quincy.tana@gmail.com

Bio: Born in Nebraska in 1977, Tana Quincy Arcega obtained a BFA from the University of Nebraska and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art. Her mouth paintings were featured in Her Living magazine in the story, “Overcoming Obstacles". She was a recipient of the Resilient Artist Project fostering mental health and faith with Fuller Seminary, and a finalist for the Sustainable Arts Grant for parents. She has exhibited both nationally and internationally. Her solo exhibitions include Re.riddle Gallery, CounterPulse, Red Poppy Art House, Incline Gallery in San Francisco, Bemis Underground in Omaha, Foundry Art Center in St. Louis, and Gene Space in Shanghai, China among others. She lives in San Francisco and is represented by Re.riddle Gallery.

Statement: My painting practice explores the immanent qualities of materials, rooting me downward. A coinciding contemplative practice probes upward towards transcendence. At the coalescence of these is a centeredness on compassion, healing, and able-ness. Though classically trained as a figurative oil painter, physical limitations prompted the use of alternative materials and mark-making approaches. Strangely, these limitations have greatly expanded my practice. I explore processes such as mouth painting, sewing, and extrusion painting using all kinds of media including building materials and industrial textiles. My visual themes always self-reference to give value and attention to the innate qualities of my humble materials which range from polyethylene drawer liner to wood glue. The verisimilitude of figurative painting plays out here in notions of mimicry and material rhymes. At its essence, my work challenges viewers to see the invisible qualities of the divine in our everyday surroundings.