JEFFREY HARRIS
Although Jeffrey Harris attended the Otago Polytechnic School of Art in 1972, he was primarily mentored and tutored by Michael Smither, Ralph Hotere and Colin McCahon.
Harris’ expressionist paintings have always embraced a wide range of influences, observing the small detail of the world as well as reconciling, large scale gestural brush marks on the surface of the canvas. Harris came to prominence in 1977, becoming the Frances Hodgkins fellow in that year as well as exhibiting a mature series of works that recalled his childhood in Akaroa. Typically the anxious figures in these paintings rarely communicate with one another.
In 1986 he travelled to Melbourne as artist-in-residence at Victoria College. Remaining in Australia until 1998 Harris refined his iconography to minimalist, symbolic abstract forms. Since 2000 he has returned to more figurative and expressive images and in 2003 he was the recipient of the Wallace Art Award.
Harris returned to live in Dunedin in 2000, and a monograph was published in 2005.
Harris’ work is held in the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington, New Zealand and the Dunedin Art Gallery, Dunedin, New Zealand.
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