'Emma Bennett's paintings investigate the emotions associated with love and death; desire, fear and vulnerability. Consisting of appropriated imagery (often from Dutch painting of the 17th century) set against monochromatic grounds, my work is a celebratory combination of languages that explore the relationship between abstraction and representation; contemporary and historical; signifier and signified.
The recent work, focuses on Dutch flowers that are painted in oil on blue-black French enamel, revealing a reflexive sensibility and embracing the physicality of the materials used. Captivated by the delicate surfaces and the use of light in the original paintings, I find the symbolism of flowers equally resonant. I strive to retain the luminosity of the original Dutch blooms but represent them in varying compositional arrangements so that they appear to be suspended in vast expanses of space. Like the Dutch artists I give the impression that the paintings capture a precious moment in time. Yet, by creating intense monochrome surfaces using veils of poured lacquer, they also look to the abstract expressionist tradition and the associated notion of the void.' (Liverpool Museums)
