Chicago Activist Art Initiative Selected to Present at 2016 United Nations

It is an honor to be involved in a compelling panel discussion: Change Artists - Using the Arts to Leverage Positive Change that will take place at the 2016 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW), Thursday, March 17, 2:30 PM, at the Thai Cultural Center, 310 E. 44th Street, Room 2 in New York City.

Panelists include: Breaking Criminal Traditions (BCT) executive producer/TED speaker Cheryl Jefferson, BCT curator/painter Professor Charles Gniech, Columbia College-Chicago art professor/BCT painter Richard Laurent and Andrea Harris.  The panel will teach participants how to translate the arts into social action, strategies for community engagement, engaging artists and more based on the BCT model. 

©2016 Andrea Harris, Cultural Mosaic, Oil & Cold wax on Canvas

©2016 Richard Laurent, Small Change, Oil on Canvas

Begun in 2013, BCT uses fine art to raise awareness of honor killing, child/forced marriage, female genital mutilation, acid violence, child military conscription, and other criminal traditions that harm millions of females each year, yet globally are not considered crimes.  "The beauty of fine art helps people access these difficult topics," says Jefferson, "and that consciousness is the first step toward changing these human rights violations worldwide." 

Under curator Gniech, BCT has exhibited in five major Chicago area venues including Chicago-Kent College of Law, the Beverly Arts Center, The Art Center - Highland Park, North Central College and the Bridgeport Art Center.  Each exhibit features new work and is accompanied by in-depth community and educational outreach including panels, artists' workshops, screenings, dance performances, high profile speakers and more.  "The UN CSW allows us to take this work to an international level," says Gniech.

©2016 Andrea Harris, Beyond Boundaries, Oil & Cold Wax on Canvas

Running from March 14 to March 24, 2016, the UN Commission on the Status of Women is attended by thousands of policy makers, legal influencers, educators, and activists from around the world. Panels are free and open to the public.

For more information please contact:

Cheryl Jefferson, Executive Producer, The Art of Influence: Breaking Criminal Traditions, Office 312.939.7130 • Mobile 312.953.8102

Salon International art3f Paris

And now, another fabulous exhibition...this time in Paris

The venue is the Salon International d'art3f February 12, 13 &14, 2016 at the Port of Versailles.

Salon international d'art 3f 

Rainforests & Ecosystems, by Andrea Harris

I am pleased to announce the Eco-Cool Globe, Rainforests & Ecosystems, will be on view during this exciting exhibition and is represented by Monteoliveto Gallery.

About Rainforests & Ecosystems Globe:

The world's tropical rainforests cover only a small part of the earth's surface- about 6%, yet they are home to over half the species of plants and animals in the world.

This globe highlights the seven very important everyday foods linked to the rainforests:

• Coffee

• Bananas

• Acai

• Cinnamon

• Black Pepper

• Cocoa

• Palm Oil

The twelve-inch diameter globe was also on view in October, 2015 at the House Space Museum Tadini Milan,  Feeding the Planet Energy for Life international exhibition from October 10-24, 2015. The artwork investigated concepts regarding food, nutrition and the environment which brought together 30 artists from international countries and was part of a larger, 6-month exhibition that was a global showcase for 140 countries.

About Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Climate:

Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet project & exhibition was conceived in 2006 by Chicago environmentalist Wendy Abrams. Wendy's tireless energy resulted in the most amazing "global" display of creative ideas to bring awareness to the public of climate change and our social responsibility.  

The original "Cool Globes" were five-feet in diameter and many have been on view throughout the United States and Europe. In addition to the five-foot diameter globes, the twelve- inch version was created for special indoor exhibitions and international environmental awards. I am honored to have been involved in the original Chicago exhibition and created the Eco-Heroes globe which highlighted individuals that have dedicated their lives to preserving the environment for future generations. 

Andrea Harris & Eco Heroes Globe at Chicago's Museum Campus

A second globe was a collaboration with two other artists, Sandie Bacon and Ann Bingham-Freeman, and it was first unveiled in Los Angeles by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Andrea Harris: Collector's Choice at Amsterdam Whitney Gallery

                                                     

                                       Illusion, Oil & Cold Wax on Canvas, 24 x 24 inches

Illusion, oil & cold wax on canvas, 24 x 24 inches, is currently on view at Amsterdam Whitney Gallery, 511 West 25th Street, Chelsea, New York City and has been chosen as "Collector's Choice." The group exhibition of artwork, created by esteemed international selected artists, continues until March 22, 2016.  

I am honored to share the recent review of my artwork that is represented by Amsterdam Whitney Gallery:

“If I were called upon to define briefly the word Art, I should call it the reproduction of what the senses perceive in nature, seen through the veil of the soul" stated Paul Cezanne.  Andrea Harris' elegantly soulful and evocative paintings of nature offer a unique and distinctive modern vision to the landscape genre. Conveying an alluring mystique combined with an air of the mystery and wonderment of the environment, her masterful compositions are identified by her enticing mastery of her technique.  By capturing the fleeting effect of natural phenomena, Ms. Harris immortalizes the transitory quality of nature and seduces the viewer into contemplating a myriad of emotions regarding their relationship with the natural terrain.  In our digital, technological universe, where changes are occurring at lightning speed, Ms. Harris shifts the visual dialogue inward by asking the viewer to put away their techno-devices; to slow down and take the time to view the world around them, and to think about their emotional relationship with nature.  

Creating a gentle aura of awe, Andrea Harris' lyrical landscapes result in an intense and sensuous experience with the natural terrain.  Hovering on the cusp between abstraction and representation, Andrea Harris's sublime compositions reveal a fresh perspective combined with a deep insight into the familiar. The artist contemplates the landscape and discovers a romantic elation as well as a note of melancholy as she searches for nature that is beyond the reality of our senses. Keenly attuned to the progressions of the seasons, her paintings assimilate the soul and spirit of the land and through this magical osmosis; her beautiful paintings are a tribute to the ever-fleeting flashes of time in our lives.

 The individual compositions are distinguished by a high level of painterly sophistication evidenced in disciplined compositions sparking a masterful use of color. Because color is so alluring, it captivates one's senses, as she employs a carefully selected palette to deliberately challenge the viewer’s imagination and emotions. A melodic and exceptional use of color along with the fluidity and energy of her technique enable her to underscore the light, the subtle tonal transitions, and constant play of warm hues against cool which provide astonishing richness and depth to the shadows and vibrant luminosity to the highlights. 

 Internationally recognized as a painter, an educator and an art lecturer, Andrea Harris's masterful landscapes have catapulted her to national and international recognition to become one of the most celebrated landscape artists. Brilliantly translating onto canvas with a syncopated beat the magnificence of nature, award-winning painter Andrea Harris has participated in a lifetime of immersion in the arts, culminating in an outstanding body of work. Ms. Harris has been honored to participate in prestigious residencies in Italy and in France, and this Chicago-based artist has enjoyed numerous successful exhibitions throughout Europe and the U.S. The presence of her works in prestigious collections across the world is affirmation of her continually expanding reputation.

Amsterdam Whitney Gallery, 511 W. 25th Street, Chelsea, NYC

Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Saturday • 11am - 5pm • phone: 212.255.9050  

Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690-1840

Nathaniel Hone, The Spartan Boy, A Portrait of Camillius Hone, 
The Artist's Son, c. 1775. Private collection. Photo Courtesy of Pyms Gallery.

If you have not yet seen the Ireland:Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690-1840 exhibition currently at the Art Institute of Chicago, it’s not too late.  The exhibition has been extended through June 21, 2015 and is a feast for the eyes and soul.

The expansive exhibition is a celebration of 18^th century Ireland’s decorative and fine arts, bringing together more than 300 objects that include impressive elements such as paintings, furniture, silver, textiles, books, musical instruments, ceramics, glass, arms & militaria. 

John Egan. Portable Harp, c. 1820. The O'Brien Collection.
Photo: Jamie Stukenberg, Professional Graphics.

It is only fitting that the exhibition should take place in Chicago, a city rich in Irish heritage and is shared by the Art Institute's dedication to Irish visual culture. The Art Institute of Chicago's Irish collections serves as the nucleus for the exhibition, along with significant objects with an Irish provenance on loan from the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, Loyola University Museum of Art, the Newberry Library and the American College of Surgeons.  

While visitors to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago were introduced to "the quaint charms of rural Ireland," it was from 2007 until 2011 that Desmond FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin freely shared his ideas that supported the Art Institute of Chicago to realize a much more comprehensive vision. The Art Institute is the first and only venue to present this exhibition.

The viewer has the opportunity to wander throughout the ten galleries with works of art representing 24 Irish countries, thematically organized for optimum experiences of "moments" and "snapshots" of Irish tradition. 

John Kirkhoffer, Secretary Cabinet, 1732. Dublin, Ireland.
Art Institute Chicago, Gift of Robert Allerton

After absorbing the exhibition's many cultural delights, patrons are invited to pay a visit to a temporary Irish pub located in the museum's Café Moderno.

Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design 1690-1840 offers the next best experience to visiting the country.

Samuel Walker. Two-Handled Cup and Cover, c.1761-66.
Dublin, Ireland. Philadelphia Museum of Art,
Gift of an anonymous donor, 2008.

Exhibition Special Events:

Author Talk: Emma Donoghue
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Fullerton Hall
6:00pm
Irish-born prize winning author and historian Emma Donoghue will join museum visitors for a talk about Raising the Dead. Donoghue will reflect on her Irish background and the techniques of her fact-inspired fiction that draws on real Irish lives, at home and abroad, from the 14th to 19th century.

Free with museum admission; free admission for Illinois residents Thursdays from 5:00-8:00pm.

Ceili at the Crossroads
Saturday, June 6, 2015
2:00pm-3:00pm
A concert of traditional Irish music performed by an extraordinary ensemble of world-class musicians. The performance features music from the CD recorded to accompany the exhibition.

Shatter Rupture Break

Imagine the world a century ago – swept up in two global wars, with society shifting and ever challenging. It almost seems like the world today: wars, communication as fast as a keystroke and the ever-present challenge of society.

Shatter Rupture Break, now on view at the Art Institute Chicago through May 3, 2015, suggests the common thread between society and life, steeped in the uncertain emotional moments of the era. The artists of the early 20th century responded to the shift, freeing themselves from traditional forms of art and were influenced by a myriad of emotions that explored the revolutionary process of deconstruction and reconstruction through modern forms. This was indeed an age of radical developments in the creation of art.

Robert Delaunay, Champs de Mars: The Red Tower, 1911/23.
Joseph Winterbotham Collection.

Above: Robert Delaunay's approach to an innovative, fractured perspective of the Eiffel Tower

Ilse Bing. Eiffel Tower, Paris, 1931. Julien Levy Collection, 
Gift of Jean and Julien Levy. © Estate of Ilse Bing.

Above: Ilse Bing's enigmatic and complex Eiffel Tower view.

Associate Curator of Photography, Elizabeth Siegel and the Gilda and Henry Buchbinder Associate Curator of American Art, Sarah Kelly Oehler, took the lead in organizing the first in the Modern Series of exhibitions that unveils the voices of artists, writers, scientists and other intellectuals of the period.

The exhibition features artworks that represent seven curatorial departments, including the library.

The Art Institute was an early champion of modern artists, including its presentation of the Armory Show in 1913. Shatter Rupture Break highlights a selection of recent acquisitions of modern art, and also includes some long-held works that have formed the core of the modern collection for decades.

Fernand Léger. Composition in Blue, 1921-27. The Art Institute of Chicago.
Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection. 
© 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.

The real world had been shattered and broken from the ravages of two world wars, and the stage was set for artists to piece together new art forms.  As Kurt Schwitters (below) declared, "Everything had broken down in any case and new things had to be made out of the fragments."

Kurt Schwitters. Mz 13 Call, 1919. The Art Institute of Chicago. 
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Maurice E. Culberg.
© 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn.

The fragmented body also became a perceptive approach as a response to the fractured world. Many artists, including Surrealists, chose to explore creativity from the unlocked mind. In Paris, the surrealists created illusionary body parts to effectuate forms.

Salvador Dalí. City of Drawers, 1936. The Art Institute of Chicago. 
Gift of Frank B. Hubachek. © Salvador Dalí,
Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, 2014.

Included in the exhibition are selected photographs that range from Alfred Stieglitz's stirring images of Georgia O'Keeffe to the "shattered" self-portrait created by Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz (below).

Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz. Self-Portrait, Zakopane [Broken Glass], 1910.
 Promised Gift of a Private Collection

During this time artists experimented with film that introduced innovative and avant-garde techniques that incorporated unusual perspectives, fast cuts and jarring effects. Fernand Léger's Ballet mécanique 35mm black and white film (1924) is an example of this dynamic, yet incongruous technique. Léger's film is on view along with several other films that run the gamut between humor and surrealism.

Shatter Rupture Break connects the radical, avant-garde and fragmented emotions of the period and is guaranteed to stir the viewer.



Museum Hours
Daily: 10:30-5:00
Thursdays until 8:00

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