Emily Manning Mingle, "Diamond V"

Artist Statement

Last year, during quarantine, I began daily running and meditation practices. This series of paintings was made during the same period. The rule-based system of building each painting one line at a time became a way to focus my mind and find peace and calm during an unsettling time. The process mimicked the rhythmic breathing and counting that I rely on when I run and meditative. While working, I was interested in the possibilities that emerge from chance and limits. As I moved from piece to piece, I varied the placement and size of the diamond shape, experimented with choosing colors randomly vs. planning out my palette ahead of time, and tested the effect of pushing the shape to the edge of the paper or containing within a border. This process allowed me to find joy and hope in a time of despair.

Artist Bio

Emily Manning-Mingle is a multi-disciplinary artist and educator. She graduated from Boston University with a BFA in Painting in 2009 and an MFA in Studio Teaching in 2010. For ten years, she taught art to preK-high school students in public schools, after-school programs and BU's Visual Arts Summer Institute. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Painting at Boston University.

She has exhibited her work in Massachusetts, New York, Texas, North Carolina, Mississippi and Italy and has received several awards, including the Foundation for an Open America Painting Award, a Best in Show award from the Mosesian Center and a President's Scholarship from Anderson Ranch. She is an active member of the Boston Critique Group and an artist member of the Cambridge Art Association. From 2018-2019 she was a member of Space.us and was an artist in resident at Gallery263 in the summer of 2019.

Diamond V, colored pencil and watercolor on watercolor paper, 16 x 12 inches, 2020, $250