Sought after mixed media artist, Saxon Quinn is warmly welcomed back at Saint Cloche with another bold body of work, Trial & Error, Error.

Symbols are magnetic for the young. Marks, motifs, logos, and brands are co-opted and used as tools to fit in or stand out, conform, or rebel, and to discover individuality during a time in life that is distinct for its cultural homogeny.

In Trial & Error, Error, Saxon delves into his relationship with symbology. He explores what it meant in his younger years through to today, how some symbols and their meaning have fallen away over time, and how some are now more significant than ever.

The exhibition title reflects Saxon’s work and his search for complete artistic freedom, particularly as his work can polarise viewers. Some see childlike scribbles ‘anyone could do’, but others see the balance, layers, and carefully articulated markings. Quinn welcomes this dichotomy. “Someone commented on my previous body of work something like, ‘people actually pay for this?’,” he says. “I loved that comment. It’s what I want some people to think, while having others identify the time, care and intention behind each stroke, mark, and work.”

Trial & Error, Error

“The pieces in Trial & Error, Error carry motifs from my life, and every mark has its own meaning or double meaning. Poorly drawn Wu-Tang logos represent high school friends and music. I was always constantly scribbling the bird-like W in schoolbooks, trying to perfect the lines and somehow belong. The Rolex watch pays homage to musicians I loved and references conversations between friends about the future. The Mercedes-Benz logo reflects the classic cars my mother and late father drove.

Working from my home studio in the Northern Rivers, I use acrylic paint, acrylic markers, oil sticks, oil paint, spray paint, graphite, and airbrushes to compose these works. First, I hung large sections of un-primed canvas, then stained them with a diluted spray gun before making the marks. I began with graphite, followed by bolder tones and colours, layering until a visual symphony had formed but stopping before it became a cacophony. I’ve overcooked many works which I ended up withholding from the exhibition.

Knowing when to stop is one of the biggest struggles I have with a piece. I wanted to allow myself to create rougher and ‘free-er’ works that to some may seem like there’s been little to no care, and these works are looser and heading in a direction I’m loving.”

– Saxon Quinn

Saxon Quinn is a mixed media artist from the Northern Rivers. He’s drawn to the old, time-worn, rough and patinaed, and he obscures complex, focused concepts with playfulness and a tongue-in-cheek approach. Now a career artist, Saxon previously launched a street press magazine in Melbourne and has worked in fashion design and graphic design. His work has been exhibited in Australia, the US, Denmark, Germany, and Spain.