Emily Quandahl (b. 1994) is a painter and mixed-media artist based in Minneapolis.

Her compositions utilize bold palettes and textures, starting intuitively on the floor with a base of diluted acrylics. From there, she draws from experience and impressions of her life through an abstract lens to build up layers until a balance is found. Combining needlework, hand-stitching, and raw canvas painting are of her latest focus.

My work reflects personal experiences, utilizing saturated colors to create atmospheres with diluted acrylic on raw canvas, inspired by the brain's chemical reactions during emotional surges.

After painting, I transform the canvas by integrating traditional household crafts such as mending, embroidery, and hand-stitched quilting, skills that have been passed down through my matriarchal lineage.  I opt for hand-stitching over a sewing machine to emphasize the human touch and the slight imperfections, using colored thread to spotlight the often-unrecognized labor that home caretakers have honed over generations. Following this, I re-stretch the quilted canvas to paint again, ensuring that the segments blend seamlessly and the detailed stitching becomes more subtle.

I aim to create two distinct viewing experiences: one from afar, where the entire composition is clear, and another up close, where the often-overlooked effort and detail involved in creating the work can be fully appreciated.

b. 1994 Lacrosse, WI, USA

Lives and works in Minneapolis, MN, USA

education:

Duplex AIR Residency, Lisbon Portugal, 2023

University of South Carolina, Bachelor of Music Performance, 2016

select exhibitions

2024 Holding Light Lantern Installation, Resource MPLS

2024 Open Door 19, Rosalux Gallery

2024 Eiderdown, Solo Exhibition, James Wegner Gallery - Riverland College

2024 MN State Fair Fine Arts Competition - honorable mention

2024 Sink In, A-Mills Gallery

2023 Ubiquitous, Solo Exhibition, Gamut Gallery

2023 fake pictures of real things, Pink Slip Gallery

2023 MN State Fair Fine Arts Competition

2023 Bona Fide, Fresh Eye Gallery

2022 Holding Light, Robbin Gallery

2022 Pinky Promise, Gamut Gallery

2022 Merging Layers, Jackson Flats Gallery

2022 Conexion, Gamut Gallery

2022 Stratified Silhouettes, Larson Gallery - UofMN

2021 Tiny Gallery, Nordhaus Gallery.

2019 C4W, Gamut Gallery

2019 Intrepid, Bridgewater Loft’s Gallery

2019 Living Coral, Art Force