Inspired by personal experience, nature, and the supernatural, Cassandra Quinn’s hand-painted collages are dreamy and other worldly. The feminine figures in Birth, Afterbirth, Rebirth exude power and confidence by way of vulnerability. Each painting’s story resides in motherhood. As Quinn expresses, “[they invite] viewers to reflect on their own experience of mothering: having been mothered, choosing to become or not become a mother, mothering outside of parenthood, caretaking in chosen families, pregnancy, pregnancy loss, and what self looks like on the other side of mothering.”

Quinn’s artistic investigation is deeply personal, driven by the influence of current events. With the recent explosion in artificial intelligence (AI)-generated art, Quinn set out to generate pieces from the AI program Midjourney that would mimic her own art. What returned was an endless variety of interpretations of her work, and with it an unexpected sense of freedom. Birth, Afterbirth, Rebirth explores the change of human-made art into computer-generated images, with AI posters shown alongside Quinn’s handmade work, both exploring the metamorphosis bodies undergo in motherhood.

Cassandra Quinn earned her BA in Studio Arts from UMD followed by a BFA in Art History from Columbia University in NY. Best known for vividly-colored mixed media collage, she explores the complexities of humanity, spirituality, power, gender, race, and individual and societal rituals. She lives and works in Duluth, MN where she mothers her two young daughters.

Image Credit: Cassandra Quinn, "Transmutation: Milkyway"