Artist Feature: Emma Bennett

Emma’s studio with some of the Department Store series paintings in progress

We recently caught up with Middlesbrough based artist Emma Bennett to find out more about her work and her process of creating the paintings in her current exhibition solo exhibition Above Ground at Gallagher & Turner, which runs from July 23rd - September 4th 2021

Work in progress for a public art project in Middlesbrough, which is now completed. Two of these paintings were inspired by Broadcasting House and the Cleveland Centre have been reproduced digitally on large alum boards. They will be on display outdoors in Middlesbrough town centre this summer.

Stairs to the Cleveland Centre carpark, where the inspiration for the design of one of the alum boards came from

One of Emma’s favourite works that she’s made - Yellow Parallels, vinyl emulsion on wall, 3.7 x 11m, at The Auxiliary, 2019

Why do you make paintings inspired by architecture?

At the end of my BA I was looking at graffiti and began walking around looking for things to depict in my work, it developed into an interest in modernist and post war buildings and structures that I was passing every day. I was becoming really familiar with places around town in Middlesbrough and when I rented my first studio in 2009 I started making work of the buildings I could see from my studio window.

‘During 2017-19 a lot of my work responded to the Teesside Uni Buildings Middlesbrough Tower and the Constantine Building, I made a series of paintings, 2 of which were acquired by Mima in 2020 for their collection and are currently on display on the second floor landing. My large scale painting Yellow Parallels was part of this series. ‘

Slant, 2017, Acrylic on MDF

Tower (Version 2), 2018 ,Acrylic on MDF

What was the first building that you included features of in a painting? 

Looking from my studio window, around 2009/10 I made a series of paintings inspired by a blue structure that was above the entrance of the Hill Street Shopping Centre, the most successful painting was Vent, this painting was selected for the Salon Art Prize in 2010 and was reproduced in the Tunnel Gallery, 2015.

Vent at Tunnel Gallery, 2015

Can you speak a little bit about your process for making the paintings in this exhibition? 

For Above Ground, I approached the making of the paintings through taking photographs of the building, although I was very familiar with the interior of the building when I photographed the building from outside I noticed more features mainly the stairways which were particularly visible through the windows and the outer shape of the building which is very tall. Shapes seen and selected from the photographs are put together in a simple and flat arrangement with the inclusion of pattern, usually stripes; the intention is to create a visual tension of the surface.  As with most of my painting series, I decide on a group of 3 or 4 colours and then I like to test out different colour combinations and compositions, at times the work may look repetitive but each work is often made as a response to the last.   

paintings in Above Ground

What are you working on at the moment?

I am just starting a participatory project which involves completing a sketchbook for another artist’s exhibition which will go on display at the Arc, Stockton in October. For this project I will be responding in paint to collages made at home in the lockdown at the beginning of the year during my 100 day project.