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BIO
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Kaleigh Quinnan is an artist currently based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She holds a Bachelors of Fine Art in Drawing & Painting as well as a Bachelors of Science in French and Francophone studies with a business concentration (2021).
Her current work explores representations of women in pop culture and the western art canon, blending motifs pulled from cult cinema, cartoons, fashion, advertising and influencer marketing. Dwelling on dramatized tropes of feminine bodies, she creates absurdist narratives with abstract forms as an avenue to criticize sexualized consumerism, class politics, and gendered aesthetics. Large-scale figurative paintings and colored pencil drawings are central to her current studio practice that also includes performance and digital design.
Interested in creating narratives that walk the line between horror and humor, the artist uses linear form to develop the visual language that defines this intersection. Across mediums, the work materializes as a suite of bold figures that playfully reject their status as an object and embrace agency over their own distressing narrative by challenging different perspectives on what it means to be consumed.
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EDUCATION
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2021
Schreyer Honors College . The Pennsylvania State University . University Park, PA .
BFA, Drawing & Painting . Cum Lade
BS, French & Francophone Studies, Business Concentration . Cum Lade .
Minors in Political Science and Global & International Studies
Undergraduate Honors Thesis: The Commoditization of The Female Body as A Luxury Good: The Result of French Culture at Intersection of Fine Art and Popular Culture Media
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2020
The Institute for Field Education (IFE) . The Paris Field Study and Internship Program . Paris, France .
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SOLO & GROUP EXHIBITIONS
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2026
Now, One With Everyone! . Group Exhibition . Icebox Project Space . Philadelphia, PA .
1001 Penthouse Show . Group Exhibition . 1001 Penthouse Gallery . Philadelphia, PA .
JUMP! MOVE! SHAKE! | Solo Exhibition . Social Beings . Philadelphia, PA .
Abstract Spring . Group Exhibition . Social Beings . Philadelphia, PA .
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2025
WHAT DO THEY WORSHIP IN THE WEST . Solo Exhibition . Lather . Philadelphia, PA .
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2024
The Illusion of Reason and Time: A Coast to Coast Exhibition of SOVA Alumni . Group Exhibition . The Fishbowl . Seattle, WA .
Downtown 500 Presents: The Back in Philly Show . Group Exhibition . Downtown 500 . Philadelphia, PA .
ALL THERE IS TO DO IS GET YOUR HAIR DONE AND DIE . Solo Exhibition . Lather . Philadelphia, PA .
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2023
The Calm Before The Storm . Group exhibition . CFEVA , curated by Chelsey Luster . Philadelphia, PA .
Center for Emerging Visual Artists . Group Exhibition . BLICK, Philadelphia, PA .
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2022
A Journey to Seriphos . Group Exhibition . Philadelphia, PA .
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2021
Palmer Museum of Art Student Exhibition . Group Exhibition . Penn State Creates . Palmer Museum of Art . University Park, PA .
Penn State School of Visual Arts Scholarship Recipients Exhibition . Zoller Gallery . University Park . PA .
Penn State Undergraduate Juried Show . Zoller Gallery . University Park, PA .
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2020
No More Art . Solo Exhibition . POPUP Galleries . Remote .
Penn State Undergraduate Juried Show . Zoller Gallery . University Park, PA .
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2019
It’s Not Contemporary, It’s New . Solo Exhibition . Patterson Gallery . State College, PA .
Penn State Undergraduate Juried Show . Zoller Gallery . University Park, PA .
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2018
Penn State Undergraduate Juried Show . Zoller Gallery . University Park, PA .
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2017
Student Showcase . Group Exhibition . Zoller Gallery . State College, PA .
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SELECTED MURALS
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An Invitation to Backyard Bricks . Private Residence . 2022 . Philadelphia, PA .
Bon Appétit! . J.H. Philips Academy, Birmingham City Schools . 2022. Birmingham, AL .
Looking Up to Avoid Looking Down . Downtown State College Improvement District . 2021. State College, PA .
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AWARDS, PRESS, PRESENTATIONS
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ongoing
The Emerald . Artist lecturer and workshop host . New York, NY .
Social Beings . Artist lecturer and workshop host . Philadelphia, PA .
Schreyer Honors College, The Pennsylvania State University . Atherton Showcase Committee, Alumni Organizer and Panelist . University Park, PA .
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2025
E/X Journal, Edition 001 . Artist Features . December 2025 .
NEVERHARDFUNDS . Features, Osa Kalusha . May 2025 .
Create! Magazine . Multi-Medium Meditation, Rita Thompson . Create! Magazine 50th Anniversary Edition Print Issue, p. 36 . March 2025 .
Arts To Hearts Project . Featured Artist, Studio Visit Book Vol. 5, p. 100 . 2025 .
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2024
Moore College of Art & Design . Guest critic . AADM520 led by Meg Wolensky . Philadelphia, PA .
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2023
The Pennsylvania State House of Representatives . Recognized by the chamber with work on display . Sponsored by Representative Melissa Schusterman . Harrisburg, PA .
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2022
Frances Michelle Gallery . Organizer, Curator and Exhibitor . Philadelphia, PA .
Delaware County Community College . Artist Talk . Anthony Folks’ Introduction to Painting course . Media, PA .
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2020
The Daily Collegian . Editorial Cartoonist . Quarantine Cartoons: Self Reflection in 2020
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2019
J.S. Levine Endowment for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities . The Pennsylvania State University . University Park, PA .
The Daily Collegian . It’s Not Contemporary, It’s New . Oct 24, 2019 .
The Intercollegiate Humor Anthology . Tink and Dink go Shopping, Brown University Comedy Conference . 2019 .
kaleigh quinnan 