Exciting opportunity – Self-portrait

I was recently asked with 5 other artists to take part in a promotional exhibition with the Jersey Arts Centre called Self Portrait.

Myself, Gaby Radiguet, Lisa Macdonald, Alison Richards, Matt Falle and Kevin Pallot will be taking up this exciting opportunity.

The challenge being we will arrive in the Berni Gallery on Sunday morning (20th March 2011) and we create work for the exhibition within the space by the next day (Monday 21st March) when we’ll have a preview at 5.30pm!

I was really happy to be invited to be part of such an exciting project and the opportunity to work amongst other artists in so many different disciplines. It’s both exciting and terrifying, especially as some of my drawings can take up to 40-50 hours. But it presents the challenge of possibly a new way of working. Luckily I believe artists are pretty well trained for this lack of sleep, working through the night, living on adrenaline – as many of us have done the nights leading up to a big exhibition.

The image here is taken by artist Alison Richards on the spur of the moment where all the artists taking part were photographed and merged as one. I’ll keep you up to date and look forward to finding out what 6 artists together in one space get up to in 36 hours.

The piece I worked on was a study form a costume I’d been working on. The dress was an interpretation of Helen Chadwick’s ‘Loop my Loop’ which uses golden hair entwined with pig gut – a classic twist of fairy tale combining beauty and grotesque, inner and outer in an embrace that challenges these distinctions.

In the time given I photographed the dress as well as working on a observational drawing from the dress itself.

 

 

Perception

Sunday morning I began to help hang the exhibition of my friend and talented artist Clare Ormsby in her solo exhibition at the Berni Gallery at the Jersey Arts Centre. The exhibition went up really well and I look forward to taking it all in at the preview.

This is Clare’s first exhibition featuring her three dimensional work. Her new collection explores how art can transform the mundane. A mixture of 2D paintings and 3D forms often merge and become one, playing with how you see the work and it also questions the value of objects as Clare transforms everyday objects into beautifully exquisite art forms.

Clare is well known for her unique style that uses both painting and drawing techniques that creates beautifully intricate surfaces. Clare is a real colourist and with this exhibition her use of colour and forms make for an exciting, vibrant and beautiful exhibition.

Make sure you don’t miss it!

The exhibition runs: 24th January – 12th February 2011, Berni Gallery, Jersey Arts Centre. The preview is Monday 24th January 5.30-7pm.

Here’s a quick snap I took of the work setting up today – just to wet your appetite. Hopefully see you at the preview.

Less writing more drawing please!

I’ve seem to have spent the last month or more writing rather then drawing. With several proposals on the go and working on this new website -  all important things to be doing, but also I can’t wait to get drawing. Juggling so many things in life in order to be an artist can at times leave you with little time to be just that. Anyway, I must be patient and let the ideas bubble in my brain – soon I will be able to satisfy my artistic urges.  This is what I’ve been working on:

1. Museum Proposal

I met with  Jersey Heritage, as for some time now I’ve been wanting to plan my next solo exhibition and really push my installation work. I’ve always thought the Merchant’s house would make a fantastic site specific exhibition space for my installations. The first part went really well and Heritage seem really on board with the idea. I also met with heritage to discuss the history of the house and the family that lived there. I’m now working on plans for the rooms and doing more research on living in the 1800′s. Next stage is to find someone to fund the project – this is the difficult bit – wish me luck!

2. Town Park Public Art Proposal

I turned over a new leaf this year to seize every opportunity. I usually don’t apply for public art pieces as I feel overwhelmed by the fabrication of a public sculpture. But I decided this shouldn’t stop me and that like so many artists – Anish Kapoor for example, I can just get someone else to help make it. After all the idea is really the most important bit. I spent a week brainstorming ideas and speaking with engineers about fabricating it and came up with a proposal I submitted Monday (10th Jan 2011). The process of thinking about my practice interpreted in new materials – metals and fibreglass – was really exciting. I’ve always been a hands on person and the thought of welding is so exciting. I also met with artist Clare Ormsby and we came up with a list of design ideas that would be intrinsic to the design and function of the park e.g. designing the children’s play area and seating area. I will let you know if I/we hear back. Fingers crossed.

3. National Gallery proposal

Still very much at the initial stages with this and working once again with my partner in crime Clare Ormsby. After the success of the Carte Blanche exhibition at the new Liberty Wharf Site, I felt like the States of Jersey had missed a great opportunity. Why not in the agreement to lease to Harcourt developments did they not consider a gallery space to bring something different and cultural to the space. Once again money and commercialism takes precedence over culture. The way I see it there’s so much talk about a National Gallery which would be amazing but it’s going to cost millions and I can’t see it happening for another decade. Why not rent one of the units at Liberty Wharf as an acorn. An easy manageable space that could be the start of the National Gallery and which one day could move and develop into something much bigger. But start small and get it done.

4. Writing this blog

As I write this blog I realise I am still writing rather then drawing, but I have promised myself to dedicate time each week to write a blog and keep people up to date on what I’m doing. So when you don’t see any new drawings appearing I can prove to you I’m not being lazy and that I can look back and hopefully think – Karen, you’ve been busy.

Vanita collection concept

The concept of this collection of work came from looking at traditional 18th century Vanita paintings, which contained symbolic objects that often looked at the fleeting nature of life. The irony was that these paintings commenting on life, wealth and the pointlessness of commodities became just that and were extremely popular paintings in their own right. The idea for the dress came from studying decaying flowers (often depicted in Vanita’s): life draining but remaining a beautiful form, perhaps even more so as it withered away. The dress is really more of an extension of the body then a item of clothing – I intended it to depict flesh; real, visceral, with signs of decay but a beautiful highly embellished indulgent form. Combining both a powerful yet vulnerable form.

You can see more if this collection in the galleries section Vanita Series

The dress is made using textiles, wax and paint and has been photographed being worn as well as being drawn using pastels as featured here. My work usually always stems from me making where I’m able to visualize my ideas with more clarity. I will then draw what I’ve created – in a sense creating my own still life.

I’m greatly influenced by Baroque painters such as Caravaggio who expressed sensuality, human emotion so powerfully in his painting, he really captured often tragic moments so beautifully.

Welcome to my new site

Just a little note to say welcome to my new site and Happy New Year. This has been on the ‘to do’ list for a very long time and finally here it is. Those days off over Christmas came in handy to get some last bits together. I’ve also set up a Facebook page if you want to follow me on here too.

Well I hope you enjoy browsing the site, majority of the work is for sale – so get in touch if you want to know any more details about a piece.

Enjoy browsing the galleries of work and don’t forget to read the blogs. If you want to sign up to the mailing list and get updates about exhibitions, new work and what I’m up to, then make sure you enter your email into the subscribe section on each page.

Take care and speak soon

Karen

Installation ‘Like flies to flesh’

This installation ‘Like flies to flesh’ is a combination of ideas I’ve been working on that I’ve brought together in this installation at Hamptonne Country life museum.  The suspended dress you see in the installation is the the dress being worn by the female in the large drawing. My work usually always stems from me making where I’m able to visualize my ideas with more clarity. I will then draw what I’ve created – in a sense creating my own still life. The suspended flesh pieces are my latest creation that will no doubt become drawings in the near future.

The suspended carcasses are an idea I’ve had in my mind for quite some time. Attracted to the flesh are butteflies fluttering towards it like a swarm of flies to rotting meet. “Are these the eyes of the crown attracted by the imminent spectacle of torture? But why would these absurd eyes be attaracted, like a cloud of flies by something so repugnant?” (Georges Bataille, Visions of Excess). In my work I intend to create conflicting ideas and materials such as the beautiful delicate butterflies and contrast these signs of beauty and life with ideas of death and disgust; the hanging carcasses. Like artists Helen Chadwick’s ‘loop my loop’ where she uses pig gut and golden braids, I take materials with opposing ideas and make them work harmoniously together.

I have been influenced by artists such as Helen Chadwick and Cathy De Monchaux for their beautiful yet often sinister creations and Kiki Smith because of the very visceral reality of her work. I am also interested in writers such as Julia Kristeva who explores ideas around abjection, and Angela Carter and Georges Bataille whose stories often use a very romanticized language which seduces you into reading them and enjoying some of their unpleasant truths.

Vanita series of work

Take a look at my Vanita collection of work from making costumes to staging the sculptural clothing to photographs and drawing, as well as installation work. Have a look at the the Vanita series gallery.

www.karenleroyharris.com/vanita-series

Red Dot Sale 2, 2010

Art exhibition, sale and live music
Tuesday 14th December 2010, 5-9pm
The Grand Hotel, Jersey

For one night only the Red Dot Sale returns to the The Grand Hotel after a buzzing success last year. The red dot group organise different events aimed at promoting local artists as well as finding alternative venues to exhibit. If you’re hungry for some good art, then this is the place to be. A unique mix of 15 well known and up and coming artists will be showing their work. The event is a social occasion where people have the chance to speak to the artists involved about their work. A diverse mix of artists will be exhibiting from drawing and painting to furniture, ceramics and fashion.

As well as art there will be live music from two of Jersey’s hot young bands who just had their debut performance at Thelma’s. The bands are a result of ‘The Gig School’ run by La Motte Street Youth Centre which takes the best and puts them through an intensive course focussing on live performance.