Have you met…Kevin Finklea?

Kevin Finklea Studio November 2013

An introduction can be a wonderful thing. You can meet interesting people, and make new friends. You can be introduced to your new favorite foods, books, music, or artist.

I’d like to introduce you to some of my favorite artists. Some of whom I’ve been familiar with for years, and others I’ve only recently been introduced to.

The person I’d like to introduce is the artist Kevin Finklea.

Kevin Finklea Studio November 2013

Kevin Finklea lives in Philadelphia, PA.

EDUCATION
1982    B.A., Magna Cum Laude, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA

Dominion #3 , 2013
23″ x 5.37″ x D 6″ Acrylic On Poplar

things we said were important but now forgotten

artist’s statement, Pentimenti Gallery Philadelphia, January 2011

“The new wooden work began in October 2007 during the run of a solo show in Philadelphia. That was a show of paintings that significantly approached a state of immateriality. At that time, I was consumed by the notion that something of such great personal importance could be so easily discarded. Personal convictions seemed as fleeting and dispensable as daily weather reports: data important now, just for now, largely forgotten tomorrow.
I responded by making painted wooden objects. I needed to make things that were verifiable and tactile to counter the state I occupied. I had left object making for pure painting in the year 2000. In returning to objects, I realized the importance of making work as uninfluenced by past experience as possible. I made painted forms as directly as I could without narratives, memories or other past histories attached to the process. I realized this added the burden of expectation to the work. The pieces simply lost their fresh directness when I tried to bring something from the past into the present process. My guiding rule became: glue it, screw it and paint it.
To facilitate my need for rapid production, I used lumber already cut from former projects. Pieces of crates, end stock and wood left from completed works all figured into the making of the new pieces. I actively let these remainders suggest forms. I used paint already mixed from former works. I saw no need to repeat decisions where form and color were concerned. While this could easily appear as trendy recycling; it was the freeing up of my work processes that this provided that galvanized it as my current studio approach. Materials from former works remade and remodeled became completely novel contexts to propel my interests in color and balance.” KF

Go Steal Ahead #9
2010
8.25″ x 13″ x 12.5″
Acrylic on plywood

Other material relating to Kevin Finklea.

Pentimenti Gallery: Kevin Finklea

Margaret Thatcher Projects: Kevin Finklea

Visual Discrepancies: Kevin Finklea

Joanne Mattera Art Blog: Kevin Finklea

Gorky’s Granddaughter: Kevin Finklea

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