My paintings document the life of my friends and family, portraying them as figures fully present in their own stories, not ones created for them.
When spending time with my peers, I will often have my camera in my hand to take photographs. I use the photographs I take as the template for my oil-based paintings. Painting in grisaille evens the visual playing field similar to how black and white photography does, allowing the audience to clearly focus on the details and narratives within the artwork.
I enliven the surface of the painting with written notes on our lives and history together. It is not important whether or not the words are legible. I’m more interested in these marks as a trace of my conversations with my peers and how they indicate the presence of me as the artist.
[excerpted from the artist’s website: www.kohshinfinley.com]
Finley graduated with his BFA from Otis College of Art and Design and has been a part of numerous group exhibitions throughout the US, including Black American Portraits at LACMA in 2019.