Maryanne Quinn

Maryanne Quinn is a Boulder-based textile artist whose hand-felted paintings exploit a sense of wonder. Bringing textile to life through bold colors and pattern, Quinn builds imagined landscapes and expressive compositions from layers of naturally-dyed Merino wool cut, shaped and then laboriously felted. Using her hands, she manipulates and massages the fibers, fusing the individual layers into tight units of her own musing. Imbued with a sense of play and experimentation, Quinn finds inspiration in the natural world, delights in details of everyday life and potency of nostalgia.

Floral imagery, geometric shapes and everyday objects are reinterpreted in bright colors and arranged into lively compositions reminiscent of Henri Matisse. Their simplified nature rife with symbolic potency. Defined by decisive lines and clean edges, the visual language and aesthetic organization of the work is undoubtedly informed by many years working as a professional graphic designer. Unlike the slick and glossy world of graphic design, these felted works are soft, tactile and immediately accessible. The subject matter itself reflects her lifelong observance of the intricate patterns in flowers and small creatures. The glorious poppies observed on her ordinary neighborhood walks are among her favorite subjects. In another body of work, a pom-pom winter hat recalls childhood memories, the colors and material viscerally bringing her back to experiences growing up. Swimsuits on on summer quilts are a reimagining of nostalgic detail from her own past. Her work captures and takes hold of a whimsical sensibility that exists in us all, a longing return to a simpler time.