“My paintings and such are the core of who I am. My creativity is where I live. Everything else is just background noise,” McQuade Otto said of her show, which is dedicated to the trusted mentors and co-pilots who have believed in her and the passion that feeds her work.

About Sydney McQuade Otto

Sydney McQuade Otto has been involved in the arts since a young age, growing up in Indianapolis, but spending 20 years living in upstate New York and Vermont. She has studied drawing, painting, sculpture and graphic design. She currently creates both abstract and figurative acrylic and mixed media paintings that are diverse and eclectic subject matter and technique. Using her hands, brushes, palette knives, and graphite, McQuade Otto creates a body of work with a sense of movement and texture without hard edges.

“When I create anything, I spend a lot of time visualizing the final piece,” McQuade Otto said. “As I paint, the work takes on a life of its own. I work quickly capturing the moments or flashes of awareness, visions that manifest themselves as I work. My titles are deliberately ambiguous as putting a name to a piece limits the viewers interpretation by setting the stage or giving an indication of what might be happening.

Evoking an emotion or visceral reaction to my work is important to me. With intense focus, I can glimpse what I am trying to capture and translate this as quickly as possible before my thoughts are interrupted.  I see these unexpected “visions” as opportunities for adventures; to follow where they will ultimately lead me.”

About the Full Circle Nine Gallery

The Full Circle Nine Gallery operates as an artist cooperative gallery, with each of the member artists and the board dividing gallery duties and artists roles. The artists will work together to help each other advance in skill and practice, as well as to bring success to the gallery. With over two dozen artists occupying a large, three-room space of the more factory-reminiscent portion of the Circle City Industrial Complex, Full Circle Nine offers a wide variety of art forms, media, and approaches.

The gallery has resumed weekend hours, 12-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Full Circle Nine Gallery is located at 1125 Brookside Ave., Indianapolis, IN, 46202, in the South Studios section of the Circle City Industrial Complex. For more information, or for artists interested in joining the Full Circle Nine, please visit www.fullcirclenine.com