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David Harrison (artist)
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
artist based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
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Harrison's work comprises mostly representational painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
s and sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
. Influenced by mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
and fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
s, he paints scenes that juxtapose, often humorously, humans with natural and supernatural creatures including birds, insects, foxes and fairies. His paintings are typically rendered on canvas, wood panels or found flat objects and his sculptures often include discarded objects. He also makes short films. His work often contains social comment, often lamenting the breakdown of society (for example the rise of hoodie
Hoodie
A hoodie is a sweatshirt with a hood. The characteristic design includes large frontal pockets, a hood, and a drawstring to adjust the hood opening. They are sometimes worn with sweatpants. Some hoodies have zippers on them to allow easy removal much like a jacket...
culture) or the desecration of nature by human activity.
Harrison received his BA from St Martin's School of Art in 1984. He has shown work in many exhibitions including Sickbed at the Cubitt Gallery
Cubitt Artists
Cubitt Artists is an artist-run art gallery , artist studios and art educator , founded in 1991...
in London, One-Man Show at the Cowboys and Poodles Gallery in San Francisco, and Mother Nature at Vilma Gold in London. In 2008 his first New York solo show entitled Green and Pleasant Land was held at the Daniel Reich Gallery which received favorable press reviews. His most recent solo show, entitled Existence, was held in September 2009 at the Victoria Miro Gallery
Victoria Miro Gallery
The Victoria Miro Gallery is a leading British contemporary art gallery in London, with an international reputation, run by Victoria Miro, one of the "grandes dames of the Britart scene", who first exhibited Chris Ofili and the Chapman Brothers...
in London.
A book David Harrison was published in 2009 by Philip Wilson Publishers. The book includes a foreword by architectural historian Lucinda Lambton
Lucinda Lambton
Lady Lucinda Lambton, Lady Worsthorne is a British writer, photographer and broadcaster on architectural subjects, born 10 May 1943, in Newcastle upon Tyne.Her father was the Conservative government defence minister Lord Lambton She is married to the journalist Peregrine WorsthorneShe left school...
, a study of Harrison's work to date by Alistair Robinson, director of The Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art
Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art
Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art is a contemporary art gallery which is based in Sunderland, England. The gallery focuses on producing exhibitions of new work by emerging and established international artists. The main gallery is a 35 x 17m space which is regularly configured for each...
, and an interview with artist and fellow student at St Martin's School of Art Peter Doig
Peter Doig
Peter Doig is a contemporary artist born in Scotland. In 2007, a painting of Doig's, entitled White Canoe, sold at Sotheby's for $11.3 million, then an auction record for a living European artist.-Early life:...
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He is represented by the Victoria Miro Gallery
Victoria Miro Gallery
The Victoria Miro Gallery is a leading British contemporary art gallery in London, with an international reputation, run by Victoria Miro, one of the "grandes dames of the Britart scene", who first exhibited Chris Ofili and the Chapman Brothers...
(London).