Wonder. Acrylic on Panel, 48.5″H x 97″L
Art and Residence featuring the work of
Michael Quadland and Furnishings from
The Hudson Mercantile
October 9 – December 15, 2015
Opening reception October 9, 2015 / 5:00 – 8:00pm
Artist Michael Quadland majored in art at Dartmouth College and holds a PhD in psychology from New York University and a Master of Public Health degree from Yale. Before returning to painting full-time he worked as a clinical psychologist, assistant professor of psychiatry at Mt Sinai Medical School, AIDS researcher, and eventually as a novelist. He now lives and paints fulltime in Litchfield, Connecticut.
In his art, as in his writing and psychotherapy practice, Quadland focuses on the expression of emotion. He writes that one of the things he enjoys most about painting is the process of putting feelings into visual form, having depended on words for so many years. He works in acrylic on panel, employing layered surfaces in a nonobjective format in order to maximize imagination and projection. In his most recent “architectural series” Quadland is inspired by the WPA and Ashcan schools of American art which found beauty in the unadorned industrial landscape. Abstract metallic surfaces sometimes employ concrete, plaster and hardware. The work, highly textural and/or three dimensional, straddles the fine lines between painting, sculpture and architecture.
“I love the aesthetic of what Chris is doing with the Art and Residence exhibitions,” said Quadland. “It’s an exciting concept. I know that people like my work but they don’t know how to use it in their homes. Many are surprised to learn that it works as beautifully in a traditional home as it does in more contemporary spaces. I’ve done many gallery shows that were wonderful, but this seems to take the concept of an exhibition a step beyond, making it more integrated with the way we live.”