Tana Quincy Arcega, Tulip Garment, Cotton, graphite, spackle, 51 x 42 inches
Tana Quincy Arcega, Invisi Garment, Wool, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) mesh, gouache, grout.
Tana Quincy Arcega,Ludicrous Garment, 2023, Burlap & Cotton Fabric, Thread, Polypropylene PP Liner, Graphite, Wood Glue, Gouache, Spackle, 29 × 32 × 3 inches
Born in Nebraska 1977, Tana Quincy Arcega obtained a BFA from the University of Nebraska and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art where she studied figurative painting and sculpture. Her painting practice explores the immanent qualities of materials, rooting 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 greatly expanded her practice. She explores processes such as mouth painting, sewing, and extrusion painting using all kinds of media including building materials and industrial textiles. Her mouth paintings were featured in Her Living magazine in the story, “Overcoming Obstacles". She taught studio art at museums, colleges, and after school programs for seven years and partnered with Make- A-Wish Foundation to teach a 7-year-old girl with cancer to paint artwork that would hang in a museum. She was a recent Finalist for the Sustainable Arts Grant. She has exhibited locally at re.riddle, Eleanor Harwood, Adobe Books, and Roundweather. Her solo exhibitions include the Bemis Underground in Omaha, Foundry Art Center in St. Louis, CounterPulse, Red Poppy Art House, and re.riddle in San Francisco, as well as Gene Space in Shanghai, China.