|
ANTHONY HARRIS
BORN December 1952, Durban, South Africa
EDUCATION Fine Arts (painting major) HED, Natal Technikon - under Andrew Verster, Patrick O Connor, Paul Stopforth and Dan Cook
ABOUT THE ARTIST Harris taught art at Port Shepstone High, Glenwood High School and ML Sultan Technikon from 1977 to 1984.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS KKNK Arts Festival, Oudsthoorn Dorp Street Gallery, Stellenbosch 2002 Dry Land Strata - Knysna Fine Art, Knysna
GROUP EXHIBITIONS Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Museum, Port Elizabeth Gallery Afrikana, Melbourne, Australia VEO Gallery, Cape Town National Arts Festival , Grahamstown 2002 NSPCC Fundraising Auction - London, UK Cuytler Street Gallery, Port Elizabeth KKNK Arts Festival, Oudtshoorn Dawid’s Choice exhibition Dorp Street Gallery, Stellenbosch East Cape Artists Cyler Street Gallery, Port Elizabeth Three person show Gallery Sharon, Somerset West Vuleka Santam Exhibition Belville Art Gallery, Cape Town ICONS Dorp Street Gallery , Stellenbosch Three person show Cuyler Street Gallery, Port Elizabeth Three person show Dorp Street Gallery, Stellenbosch EPSAC Gallery, Eastern Cape 1997 New Signatures Belville, Cape Town (Merit Award) Natal Artists Tatham Gallery, Pietermaritzburg Walsh Marais Gallery, Durban NSA Members Exhibition NSA Gallery, Durban Natal Artists Touring exhibition Structures NSA Gallery, Durban Two person show Port Shepstone, Natal Two person show Walsh Marais Gallery, Durban Art South African Today Durban Art Gallery, Durban
Harris has also owned two galleries in Strand and Somerset West in the Western Cape. His work can be found in private and public collections in South Africa, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. He presently lives and works in Port Elizabeth.
FROM THE ARTIST The artist’s work has always been motivated by nature - from microscopic to panoramic. Its aim is to capture the essence of the moment in his mind’s eye and manifest that element onto a two dimensional surface with the use of a medium ....... ( I ) believe that the illusion of a landscape or a nest is secondary to the two dimensional surface, the medium, and the mark the medium makes. The medium is the message - Marshall McLuhan The mark is the message - Anthony Harris Technically, the artist uses oil on board. Oil paint, as Harris says, has organic qualities that do not exist in other mediums. Oil can be used and stretched to extreme visual representation. The use of board is also an integral part of the painting as he prepares the board to reflect the kind of surface he wants from extremely smooth to textured undercoat, at times applying many layers of undercoat and gesso. In applying the paint the artist uses anything that creates a visually stimulating mark or texture (both implied and actual). This is, in essence, the content of Harris work. While the end result is perceived as a landscape, Harris indulgence is the visual stimulation of the mark the medium makes
|