Krista Harris

Krista Harris is an expressionist painter whose work blurs lines between abstraction and the natural world. Richly layered and nuanced surfaces keep images and ideas in the air as if waiting to come into focus. Allusions to landscape and the figure, interwoven with pattern and line, collaborate to suspend a moment in time, something almost recognizable, suggestive of a place that is everywhere and nowhere at once.

Harris’ mixed media works on canvas and paper “are part art, part science experiment” she says, referencing her love of materials and the unpredictability of process. Her quick, natural energy is evident and easily recognizable in the work, regardless of surface or medium. The results lure and lull the viewer to share in the hypnotic journey; to slow down, to wander, and to see with child-like vision again.

“My process lies somewhere between painting and drawing. I am equally passionate about both and I compose the work by creating patinas of color with custom mixed glazes, building areas that are worked in reverse by scratching, sanding or removing paint, playing transparent atmospheric passages against thick opaque shapes, then working in and out and weaving it all together with seemingly random lines and marks. It’s a very sensual and cathartic process, and losing and finding the work as it progresses is a delicate balancing act.” – Krista Harris

Artist Statement – December 2021
“Part mirror, part microscope, painting is a way for me to both remember and
forget.
My art has a mind of its own. It knows where it wants to go and what it wants to
become. Its destiny is predetermined but unpredictable. It doesn’t always take the
most direct path and often strays completely off course. So I listen, I wait, I watch, I
worry. I try not to blink or overthink. I try to sit with a soft gaze, not to lose my
patience, my nerve or my temper. I know my job is just to figure out how to get it
there safely.
The process can be messy, scary, exhilarating, and disorienting all at once. Facing a
beautiful blank canvas can be more than a little daunting because each one feels as
if it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to understand something deep within myself,
with the heartbreaking beauty of nature, with the chasms in modern culture, and
with the fragile state of our earth. Each work is a challenge and chance to do better,
to listen more intently and look more carefully.
Look again, the abandoned, weathered surfaces of wood, flowers that have wilted
and been discarded, patterns that have formed in asphalt from exposure to sun,
wind and rain…all are remnants, and reminders. They are not just visually and
emotionally stirring, but they possess a tactile sensory quality that can be tasted,
smelled and felt. They carry a scent, hold a memory, elicit a vivid experience ,
evoking elation or suffering.
Painting helps me see what is often glazed over and diminished. As an artist, I
believe trying to understand why we react, ignore or rebel against unfamiliar ideas,
what things we so casually and fervently deny or dismiss, becomes a chance to
illuminate something in a different way and perhaps to bridge those gaps. So it
seems my destiny may also be predetermined.” – Krista Harris

Corporate and Public Collections

• Historic Westory Building lobby, Washington, DC
• Ingenious Corp, London, England
• Duke Memorial Medical Center, Durham, NC, purchase award
• Mesa University, Grand Junction, CO, purchase award
• Denver International Airport select group exhibition
• Colorado Governor’s mansion, select group exhibition
• Northern Trust Bank, downtown Chicago, IL, commission
• Ritz Carlton Hotel, Grand Cayman Island, commission
• Northern Trust Bank of Chicago, Chicago, IL
• 1600 LaSalle Condominium Complex, Chicago, IL commission
• Pine River Library, Bayfield, CO

Artist Video: 5 minutes 13 seconds