Emily Jolley
Why paint?
While it is generally accepted that the ‘death of art’ is far from nigh, it remains possible and necessary to question the value of creating new works.
My recent paintings employ a neutral square format and un-complicating ‘non-colours’, black and grey. In untitled (with wide line) hundreds of pins were driven into the surface of the work, amassing to form a band that spans the entire length of the surface. Oil paint, turpentine, and linseed oil were then applied to the pins; these materials going on to interact against the emulsion paint ground to continue the mark making process untroubled by the artist. The incompatibility of traditional artists’ materials and household paint, together with a time consuming and considered process result in an awkward object which is delicate and tactile as well as highly visual.
The form of my work often references strong modernist imagery. Imagine an early Agnes Martin, but whose surface has revolted; the found objects she included have clustered together, while the paint, once organised, has collated, congealed, and gone its own way.
Behind my practice lie both the compulsion to create, driven by an enjoyment of and a perceived need to be making, and a persistent awareness of the significance my individual contribution has within the dwarfing context of art history and the contemporary art world. Consequently I aim to produce work which highlights its own fragility while remaining confident in its aesthetic.
email: emily@emilyjolley.co.uk
website: emilyjolley.co.uk