Tyler Quintin ( He/Him )

My work focuses on identity, specifically the influence of the internet’s role in navigating and defining it. I am a gay Korean-American with an exclusively American cultural upbringing. I seek community through the internet as a window into my cultural heritage and my queerness. Manifesting my research through art strengthens my communal ties, while exploring the potential gaps in my identity. Utilizing the connective tendrils of the digital realm, and the wire-frame structures indicative of 3D modeling, I recreate traditional Korean ceramic forms out of sticks of clay. Within my vessels, the scaffolding gives the illusion of becoming, leaving little to no stable surface for the traditional carved narratives of Korean forms. The resulting vessel becomes a metaphor for my Korean body, which internally lacks the language and cultural, familial heritage. Diaphanous cloud forms weave within the negative spaces, informing my own understanding of the archaeological qualities of the vessel and providing space for personal symbols and images. My figurative work and the narratives behind them are inspired by both mythological research and communal, digital interactions. These sculptures are often fragmented, either abstracted into wire-frame structures or emerging from clouds. Whether it be research or active online engagement, I find that these resources have guided my understanding of my identity. Although highly influential, the internet is no substitute for lived experiences. The fragmentation of the figure (either through incomplete rendering or as a partially formed thought,) is meant to acknowledge both what is fulfilled and what is hollowed.

Tyler Quintin is a current long-term Artist in Residence at Red Lodge Clay Center (Red Lodge, MT). Prior to this, he completed residencies at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts (Gatlinburg, TN), the Morean Center for Clay (St. Petersburg, FL) and the Haystack Mountain School of Craft (Deer Isle, MN). Tyler received a BFA from Washburn University in 2016 on a full tuition merit scholarship. This opportunity afforded him the facilities to explore work across a variety of mediums, which eventually led to a transition from drawing to ceramics. Tyler was a 2024 Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist. His work has been exhibited in numerous national and international exhibitions and is featured in the permanent collections of the Mulvane Art Museum (Topeka, KS), the San Angelo Museum of Art (San Angelo, TX), and the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.