Fionn Wilson

I’ve written before that my first love when it comes to painting is expressionism (particularly German expressionism) but actually, I have two first loves. The other is, maybe strangely for a figurative painter, abstract expressionism. Painters of this genre that have particularly interested me are Mark Rothko (even though he didn’t align himself with any movement he is most associated with abstract expressionism), Robert Motherwell and Franz Kline.

I remember the first time I saw a painting by Rothko — it wasn’t in a gallery, it was onscreen whilst I was surfing the net. I was unemployed and living in Neath, South Wales, around 1997-98. I can still recall how it felt like something went off in my head. I also remember my mouth literally falling open as I stared at the screen. I often wonder if this is when I really started painting, although only subconsciously at this point.

Years later, as I began to read about painting, I discovered more of the abstract expressionists and realised they all, to some extent, made me react in an emotional way to their visual fields. I still find this hard to understand. I appreciate the politics behind Robert Motherwell’s work but it is really Franz Kline that I come back to again and again. Even typing his name makes my heart beat a little faster. His paintings buzz with energy and the intensity of the structure of his compositions, alongside the boldness of the lines, seems to me to be unashamedly sexual and exciting. The rigid, architectural quality, I guess, appeals to the pylon lover in me. And, it’s a simple fact that I really like paintings which are in black and white. I know Kline used colour, too, but to me his most successful works are the ones where he uses black and white paint. I just really appreciate the power of it. I love black. I use a lot of black. I love what Turner said: “If I could find anything blacker than black, I’d use it.”

It’s thrilling for a figurative painter to come across figurative work by an artist who is known for their abstract work, or maybe I just speak for myself. It’s even more so, for me, when the work is a self portrait. I came across this ink drawing by Franz Kline just today and I also found this self portrait I painted in 2013, which I’d almost forgotten about. I’m putting them together because although they are very different paintings, the feel is the same and I find this intriguing.

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