Artist’s Statement

 My imagery has its roots in figure drawing and narrative painting, though in recent years the figure itself has been replaced by less recognizable forms.  Painting has the ability to present inanimate objects in a way that we can empathize with them.  My images of rocks, piles, holes, monoliths and concrete walls in stark, barren landscape are not illustrations but starting points for me as a visual thinker.

To physically pick, pile and scrape are the most direct ways for me to respond to the world around me and are reflected in my technique.  My compositions are the result of piling paint and ideas on to the canvas then scraping away what seems unnecessary.  I repeat this process until the image and ideas solidify.  I use a limited earth tone palette, paying close attention to the subtle changes in the physical properties of the paint.  This emphasizes the tension between the painted surface and the depicted space.

 

Emily Gherard

May 2010