2015 Catalogue Archive

Using the figure to offset the increasingly abstract explorations within his work, New York artist John Finneran’s paintings contain emblematic totems that interrupt and engage the geometries of the picture plane. The blue, painterly squares and triangles separate the female nude in Spirits in the Mountains and segment the composition vertically. The sinuous limbs of the vibrant, pink-hued body interrupt the rigid geometries, and flow into a surreal depiction of the sun, moon, and figure. The title evokes a mythical origin for the female character, but the exact story remains a mystery.