Lijuan McQuillan was born in China and has lived in Ireland for almost twenty years. Based in outskirts of Drogheda, she is working on her artistic practice as an oil painter and print maker. Lijuan’s life has shifted from Eastern Asian to Western European, as well as her career from health care profession to artist due to health issues several years ago. She has been interested in art and creative practices since she was very young, and her interests have grown and developed immensely since she opted to take her Bachelor Degree in Fine Art (Honours) from Technological University Dublin (TUD).

Lijuan is interested in painting’s ability to connect with day-to-day life. Her paintings bring together her diverse past experiences of living in China and her present experience of living in Ireland. Her art not only translates experiences across space and time, but also enhances her own identity, and highlights the complex relationship of Western European and Asian identities.

Lijuan intends to stimulate the viewers imagination by featuring subjective story-telling through the body of realistic and surrealistic art works, with their aesthetic beauty, saturated colours, and the stories that unfold on their canvases.

During her time studying in Technological University Dublin, Lijuan won the Mont Kavanagh Scholarship, an award to support and recognise talented and committed students. She graduated as the recipient of the Evan’s Graduate Award and Best Studentship Award. She is also the winner of the Agility Award of Arts Council Ireland. Lijuan’s work has been collected by the Contemporary Irish Art Society (CIAS), the International Office of TU Dublin and private collectors. Lijuan has also exhibited her works in the Ireland Institute Dublin, Arklow Library and the United Arts Club (UAC).

Exhibition | Basement Gallery | TBC
Lijuan is in residence in the Basement Gallery studio during July, August and September 2022.
Follow her progress on Facebook @lijuan.mcquillan , on Twitter @LijuanMcQuillan & on Instagram @lijuanmcquillan #antainartists