Andy Finlay

Andy's studio with works in progress 2021

Throughout Andy's work you will find white oil paint, canvas, paper, cement, timber, bricks, paper and salvaged items, but it is white oil paint and light that play the lead roles. Together they create pieces that change as the ambient light changes, areas become visible and others fade making them subtly ebb and flow.

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His paintings are often, but not exclusively, urban or rural landscapes in textured white oil paint onto canvas. But as a multi-disciplined artist he chooses whatever materials, processes, disceplines or techniques to suit the project he is working on. This could be light installation, casting, video, printing, sculpture or a mix of each.  

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Andy Finlay was formally educated in fine art at the University of Westminster and after living and working as an artist in the South East and London for most of his career he recently moved his studio to Derbyshire where he is now based full time.

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In his work Andy explores our relationship with a space or area of land, the gradual changes over time through decay and erosion or the immediate transformation by destruction or demolition and its subsequent renovation or redevelopment. The repetition of this cycle over years shapes the spaces that surround us, leaving permanent marks that act as reminders of the past. He brings these scars and the layering and charging effect that they have on the space into view, exposing the emotional residue that is left behind. 

Born in West London, he grew up behind an old industrial gas works where his grandfather and great grandfather worked. It was in the shadow of the gasometer where his fascination for run-down industrial and urban spaces began. “I'm drawn to these areas, there is a fear and a fascination for me about them that comes from when I was a child. It is such a contrast to the peaceful rural spaces I also paint.” 

Throughout his oeuvre you will find white oil paint, canvas, paper, cement, timber, bricks and salvaged items, but it is white oil paint and light that play the lead roles. Together they create pieces that change as the ambient light changes, areas become visible and others fade making them subtly ebb and flow. Over time the imagery, often close to invisible in many lights, gradually starts to reveal itself and this revealing allows the narrative to slowly emerge. 

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“My aim in all my painting is to draw viewers in and for the work to slowly reveal itself. It is my way of slowing down time, to remove them to a place where the world drifts slightly away. My work tends to sneak up on you and slows you down as it transforms and I like that. It is such contrast to the instant imagery that’s all around us."