Zach Harris’s carved panel paintings unfold complex utopian and dystopian worlds. His psychedelic visions, which almost verge on abstraction, immerse the viewers into the unfathomable depths of mysterious cosmologies. In a way similar to that of late-nineteenth-century symbolism, the art-historical density of his aesthetics is haunting. While the bright colouring of his obsessively detailed paintings is reminiscent of the highly demanding art and ornamental quality of Persian miniature, his intricate hand or laser-engraved frames also evoke the elaborate woodwork of Christian altarpieces. The meticulous repetition of painted or carved patterns and motifs all over his compositions operates like mantras for this fervent practitioner of meditation. It further creates a hallucinatory play between the materiality of the relief and its optical illusion, which brings to mind the radial vibrancy and the spiritual dimension of Tibetan mandalas. Zach Harris’s syncretic art suggests timeless rituals, which, whether lost or prescient, have yet to be deciphered.
Read MoreZach Harris’s work is included in the collections of the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, the Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles, CA and the Rachofsky Collection, Dallas, TX, amongst others.
Text courtesy Perrotin.
