Exhibits

Zach Harris’ paintings allude to an exhaustive list of art historical references including decorative fields of geometric patterns from 13^th century paintings, Op Art’s illusion of movement through color combinations and patterns that provoke the eye, the detail and unity of Tibetan thangka scrolls, surreal landscapes of psychedelia, and architectural display techniques found in museums and places of worship. To assume the artist applies these references deliberately would be misleading. Rather, the works emerge from Harris’ unique visual synthesis; hence the difficulty to place them in any specific time, region, or art movement. 

Harris’ idiosyncratic flare is balanced by a recurring structure throughout his oeuvre. Each painting consists of a hand-carved frame housing a central panel. This attention to the periphery both creates a matrix for the painting while curving the focus of the viewer. Within the environment of the frame, the smaller acrylic renderings suggest a wormhole to deep landscapes with plunging mountains, sinking crevasses, and minuscule details that expound the vastness of the scene. Over a process lasting years, the artist refines and complicates his aggressive color palates, working to compress, unify, and create bewildering depths. Harris’ fierce materiality engenders prolonged spectatorship welcoming an optic communion with the work. 

Organized by Marie Heilich 

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