Abigail McGinley, recent graduate from Slade, lives and works in London.
McGinley conceives painting as the mode of expression that is most true and direct for the communication of her ideas, using pigment as a vessel for feeling. Firm believer of the autonomy of painting, she uses visuals as a way of conveying her artistic message independently form any form of contextualisation. The result is a body of work linked together by aesthetics rather than narrative. In this process there is a symbiotic dynamic between the sensuality of paint and the chosen subject matter - languid women, moody interiors, abstracted landscapes to name a few.
Everything in her visual world becomes centred around the body and what it means to inhabit one. Driven by the desire to create atmosphere over storytelling McGinley aims at making the ephemeral concrete. All actions eroticised, all textures oiled, all aspects of being felt. From joy to revenge each emotion is given space to pulsate, undulate and breathe. In turn, the figure becomes a symbol of sensation. The sensualisation of the subject matter here becomes an expedient to entice the viewer, leading to the meaningful and long-lasting contemplation of her work.
