Justin Quinn’s prints are composed of forms created through the repetition of the capital letter “E,” reflecting his sustained interest in the space between reading and seeing, the hierarchies of letterforms, and the transmission of information.
Quinn describes his use of the letter E—commonly found at the top of vision charts, the most frequently used letter in the English language, and a reference to the mathematical constant 2.71828—as a surrogate for the entire alphabet. By replacing all letters with E, language is stripped of legibility and meaning, becoming a universal yet vacant parallel language. In this transformation, text shifts from communication to visual structure, serving as a basis for image-making.
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville has been a key source for Quinn’s explorations. He transcribes sections of the novel into strings of E’s, drawing on a narrative “rich in theology, philosophy, and psychosis” that functions as both conceptual roadmap and subliminal framework. The literary foundation, combined with the ambiguity of the printed forms—which can suggest stretched hides, computer memory chips, or abstract patterns—underscores the inventiveness and layered readings of the work.
Justin Quinn has had solo exhibitions at Conduit Gallery, Dallas; Cain Schulte Gallery, San Francisco; and Kit Schulte Contemporary Art, Berlin. In March 2012, he completed two editioned prints and several unique works during a residency at Manneken Press.
Born in 1972 in Duluth, Minnesota, Quinn lives and works in St. Cloud, Minnesota.