Commencing always with an already-marked surface, Emma Finneran’s compositions begin with found objects in the form of drop sheets. The ad-hoc nature of these accidental compositions (generally resulting as an adjunct to a painted form or surface that lies elsewhere), are worked by Finneran into the fundamentals of her own pictures. She follows the lines and volumes that she finds constellated on a drop sheet, allowing these existing marks to direct the arc of what is to come after. As such, Banter Decanter is a result from an investment in the generative ability of colour and texture – the layering of paint upon paint.

Finneran is not interested in the expressive or agential forces of a psychological subject; rather, she is interested in the agency that matter displays in energising the picture, with certain pigments, tones or textures being mandated by others.

Kieran Turner