My life is inspired by the strength of nature.

Each painting centers on my observations– and humanity as one element of nature.  As a milieu of society, the dichotomy of what we see and how we act is our responsibility to each other and to the environment.

It is a reminder that we are all connected.

About the Artist

Andrea Harris is an expressionist artist educated at the School of the Art Institute Chicago. She works in a variety of media including oil, mixed media, and collage. Collections of Andrea’s paintings have been exhibited in public venues, museums and galleries and have been considered influential in humanitarian and environmental sectors.

Harris’s passion for painting the figure was her initial step toward integrating the connection of humanity with nature– very often exploring the subtle relationship of the human form,  “It is a perception that each of us is unique in the universe– yet shape, form and color remind us we are elements in nature.”

Most of Harris’s artwork evolved as being centered on observations of nature and humanity.  Because we are elements of society, her work also examines our cultural role – especially as seen in current events. The dichotomy between what we are and how we act is central to her work. This is a theme Harris has approached for some time, for example - her “Women of Courage: Beyond Boundaries” a monumental and ongoing portrait project that celebrates women who have inspired others to pursue their dreams.  This traveling exhibition is a poignant series that focuses on portraits of women who inspire us.

“In the Forest“ is a most current body of work of this interest– an exhibition/ installation of large-scale paintings that interfaces humanity and our environment – the emotional moment as we are “kissed” by nature.

Andrea’s artwork is represented in private collections throughout the United States and Europe. Her series, The Veil: A Mosaic Connecting Cultural Boundaries was featured October through December 2005 during the Silk Road Theatre’s production of Ten Acrobats in an Amazing Leap of Faith, located at the historic Chicago Temple Building. Select 2006 exhibitions include Beyond Boundaries, a solo exhibition celebrating Women’s History Month at the Mayor Daley Civic Center, She– A Show of Women, Orleans Street Gallery, Pheasant Run Resort & SPA, In the Forest, a solo exhibit at the Fine Arts Building Gallery and solo exhibit Women of Courage, featured at Chicago’s Apollo Theatre and Rosalind Franklin University. Recent exhibitions include the Acquisition Exhibition located at Chicago’s Illinois Institute of Art Gallery, 180 N. Wabash, resulting in the permanent acquisition of a Harris painting by the Illinois Institute of Art.

Harris was selected to participate in the “Cool Globes” Chicago exhibition that took place along the lakefront and The Field Museum Campus from June until October 2007. Each juried and sponsored artist created a visual solution to global warming that was integrated onto a five-foot diameter fiberglass globe. In 2008 Harris’s globe was chosen to be on view at the National Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. and is currently on view at Discovery Green Park in Houston, Texas.  A collaborative globe, “ Preserving Our Rainforests and Ecosystems,” was created with two fellow artists, Sandra Bacon and Anne Bingham- Freeman and will be exhibited in Copenhagen from November 13 until December 31. 2009.  Harris also created a 12” mini-globe replica of her larger “Eco-Heroes” globe. The replica was one of 12 selected to be on exhibition at the United Nations for World Environment Day and was on view at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington DC, from June until September 2008.

In addition to her paintings and installations, Harris is actively involved in humanitarian and environmental concerns and is the founder of the “Art and Nature Program,” designed to engage art as a catalyst to reconnect children with nature.

Gallery representation of Harris’s artwork includes Homey Gallery, 3656 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL and Gallery H, 15 South Elm Street, Three Oaks, MI.

While Harris spends much of her time at her studio in Chicago she is inspired by her time spent in New Mexico and Harbor Country, Michigan.

More extensive artwork is on view at www.AndreaHarris.com.