Statement + Artist Notes —
In The Causal Effect, her first exhibition at Back Gallery Project, Delaney continues her investigation into the temporal qualities of two-dimensional space. By methodically layering and combining various marks and areas of color, Delaney creates a visual conversation that invokes a subtle narrative while also alluding to her meditative process. Although they borrow compositionally from the fervor of action painting, Delaney’s works belie an intricate amalgamation of gestural strokes and forms, colors, and lines that the artist observes in her day-to-day.

At first glance, the splashes of color evoke a decidedly organic palette. Like pools of forest water, or the glint of myriad autumn leaves, each canvas swirls with the hues of nature that the artist sees every day. On closer examination, however, each colorfield is linked, pierced, and surrounded by delicate markings that form a web of intricate connections throughout. Flitting through this network, the viewer is nearly lost in the dense layers only to step back and witness the minutiae coalesce into a dynamic whole.
"The Causal Effect" means something has happened, or is happening, based on something that has occurred or is occurring. A simple way to remember the meaning of the causal effect is: B happened because of A. The outcome of B is strong or weak depending how much of or how well A worked. In the case of my work, the narrative of a place cannot happen without the experience of living it. My work relays heavily on my memory in order to recreate the places I paint. I'm excited to share these with you. The paintings in this exhibition use the delicately of memory as a tool to explore storytelling.” -- Sarah Delaney