Chaos 

As I understand it, the primary underlying medium of the universe is an unseen subatomic chaos. In this chaos, vibrations, attractions, and repulsions define the matter that composes our more ordered and comprehendible existences. Shannon Fincke’s work, like the universe, begins in the contemplation of unordered chaos. The surfaces of her works serve as fields of raw potential, where the interaction of painting media made up of different viscosities and colors mirrors the primal chaos of creation itself. Each piece begins as a pocket universe, where Fincke, donning the role of creator deity, defines and redefines the interactions between basic elements that come to form the ground and background of her paintings. Through a process of experimentation, the stage is set for more direct efforts. 

Order 

The presence of chaos not only necessitates the existence of order, it demands it outright. Chaos is not chaos without the reference of order. In Fincke’s Chairs Series, order is embodied through the direct application of cut paper chairs. These monochromatic chairs arranged in lines and rows, falling and alone, are obviously not crafted from the underlying structure of each piece. Deliberately inserted by the same creator that birthed the chaos that serves as their field of reference, they are noticeably different—the hard angles of the archetypical chair shape Fincke employs function as a bold counterpoint to the painted surfaces that lie beneath and surround them. 

Tension 

The energy and feeling of Fincke’s paintings exists as the byproduct of the interaction of motionless chairs and their chaotic background. Either element alone would be without meaning or purpose. The chairs, surrounded by colors, shape the obvious actions of painting and the actions of paint itself become the center of attention. The eyes of the viewer follow a row of chairs, studying how they recede into the difference. Who would sit in these chairs? Why are they arranged like this? What vast space does this chair plummet into? Their unfilled potential provides a vessel that the viewer must fill with their own self—these are works that springboard the viewer into unexpected contemplations and questions. 

— Marshall Astor, Curator, Angels Gate Cultural Center