Oct 30th 2025

Nathaniel Mary Quinn and Gregory Huebner: The Hand That Guides

@ Arts + Public Life

301 E. Garfield Blvd

Opening Thursday, October 30th, from 6PM - 8PM

On view through Saturday, December 13th

This exhibition marks the first joint presentation of Nathaniel Mary Quinn and his former mentor Gregory Huebner, two artists whose practices are bound by the transformative power of guidance, reflection, and human connection. Renowned for his emotionally charged, collage-like portraits, Quinn presents a new series of paintings on linen created specifically for this occasion. These works meditate on the “guiding hands” that have shaped his life and artistic path—mentors, loved ones, and inner voices—while opening a broader conversation about the universal role of mentorship in shaping creative journeys.

Alongside Quinn’s new work, the exhibition features Huebner’s Ritual series (2015–ongoing), a body of abstract paintings that channel his lifelong exploration of the unseen. Layering color, energy, and gesture, Huebner seeks balance amid chaos, grounding his work in decades of philosophical inquiry and spiritual study.

Together, their works resonate across generations, offering two distinct yet interconnected visions of art as a practice of searching—whether for selfhood, for spirit, or for the possibility of transformation.

 

Exhibition Event:
The Hand That Guides: Conversation with Artist Nathaniel Mary Quinn

Thursday, October 30th | 5pm-6pm

Green Line Performing Arts Center | 329 E. Garfield Blvd

Join artist Nathaniel Mary Quinn and exhibition curator Anasatasia Karpova Tinari for a conversation exploring The Hand That Guides, a powerful exhibition that pairs Quinn with his former mentor, Gregory Huebner. Together, their work highlights the transformative role of mentorship, reflection, and human connection in shaping creative practice.

This dialogue occurs just before the exhibition’s opening celebration. Guests are invited to continue the evening by walking to the Arts Incubator to experience the exhibition firsthand.

The talk is free and open to the public; seating is limited.

If you would like to attend the Artist talk, you can email artsandpubliclife@uchicago.edu to reserve your spot.

 

Nathaniel Mary Quinn (b. 1977) creates hybrid, fractured portraits and figures on paper and linen canvas using black charcoal, gouache, soft pastel, oil pastel, paint stick, and oil paint. His works are replete with art historical references to Cubism, Surrealism, Francis Bacon, and others. Yet, his process is also very personal, drawing from his memories, experiences, traumas, and family history growing up in Chicago’s Robert Taylor Homes. Nathaniel Mary Quinn balances the beautiful with the grotesque, the sinister with the benevolent, capturing the complexity of human emotion in a way that is individual and representative of the human condition.

About the Artists

Nathaniel Mary Quinn has exhibited at galleries and institutions internationally.  Recent solo exhibitions include Gagosian, New York and Paris; Almine Rech, London, England; Half Gallery, New York; Luce Gallery, Torino, Italy; M + B Gallery, Los Angeles; Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago; Bunker 259 Gallery, Brooklyn; Pace Gallery, London, England; and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, Wisconsin.  Numerous group exhibitions have featured his work, including at The Bronx Museum of Art, Albertz Benda, New York, Satori Gallery, New York, Susan-Inglett Gallery, New York, and in A Process Series | Here He Come: Black Jesus, curated by Jessamyn Fiore at Rawson Projects, New York.  Multiple publications have reviewed his work and studio practice, including the New York Times, The Independent (London), Cultured Magazine, The Brooklyn Rail, Family Style, AFROPUNK, the Chicago Reader, The Daily News, Huffington Post, and The New Yorker.  He is the recipient of the Lorraine Hansberry Artistic, Performance, and Fine Arts Award and a two-time National Arts Club Prize winner.  Considerable public institutions, such as the Art Institute of Chicago, the Sheldon Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, carry his work in their permanent collections.  Nathaniel Mary Quinn, a native of Chicago, received his BFA from Wabash College and his MFA from New York University.  He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Almine Rech Gallery and Gagosian Gallery represent Nathaniel Mary Quinn worldwide.

 

Gregory Huebner received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Art in 1971 from St. Benedict’s College in Atchison, KS. In 1973, he received his Master of Fine Ars degree from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, IL. He taught at Wabash College, Crawfordsville, IN for 37 years (1974 – 2011) serving as Chair of the Department for 23 of those years and holding the rank of Full Professor of Art since 1990. He serves as Emeritus artist at Wabash College

Gregory has had 34 solo exhibits and has been featured in 93 group and juried exhibitions, receiving several awards for his paintings. His work is represented in 33 public collections and over 90 private collections, including the Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis, IN; Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN; Tarble Art Center, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL; Sheldon Swope Art Museum,

Terre Haute, IN; University Hospital, Indianapolis, IN; Gregory and Appel Insurance, Indianapolis, Lily Foundation Inc, Indianapolis, IN; Lincoln National Life Insurance, Fort Wayne, IN; Deloitte and Touche Corporation, Cleveland, OH, and Dollar General Corporation, Nashville,TN.

Greg currently resides in Indianapolis, IN, with his family where he is the Artist-in-Residence at Nomad Corporation.

Official Website

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