No Surprises
Acrylic, oil, and spray paint on canvas
In his new body of work, Michael Harnish cuts out and assembles imagery from contemporary and vintage fashion magazines and botanical books, building relationships across seemingly distant visual genres. Hard, gestural cuts and tears contrast with tonal gradations and deliberately haphazard compositional moves. Harnish’s work also demonstrates a sensitivity to color through his combination of muted pastel tones and saturated fluorescents.
He calls his style “California Romanticism” — semi-wild and photogenic landscapes interrupted by tattered street advertisements. In Shangri-La, the works are installed as a montage, reading off each other as color, form, and imagery echo throughout the exhibition. A cartoonish depiction of a Japanese woodblock print is juxtaposed against a pink sky over the ocean at sunset, rich gold and black brocade set off a brushy rendering of a hanging fern, while painterly applications of bold swaths of color intersperse the picture planes throughout the works. The paintings in Shangri-La reflect glimpses of place, memory, and illusion that tell a story unique to the artist’s whims.
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In his new body of work, Michael Harnish cuts out and assembles imagery from contemporary and vintage fashion magazines and botanical books, building relationships across seemingly distant visual genres. Hard, gestural cuts and tears contrast with tonal gradations and deliberately haphazard compositional moves. Harnish’s work also demonstrates a sensitivity to color through his combination of muted pastel tones and saturated fluorescents.
He calls his style “California Romanticism” — semi-wild and photogenic landscapes interrupted by tattered street advertisements. In Shangri-La, the works are installed as a montage, reading off each other as color, form, and imagery echo throughout the exhibition. A cartoonish depiction of a Japanese woodblock print is juxtaposed against a pink sky over the ocean at sunset, rich gold and black brocade set off a brushy rendering of a hanging fern, while painterly applications of bold swaths of color intersperse the picture planes throughout the works. The paintings in Shangri-La reflect glimpses of place, memory, and illusion that tell a story unique to the artist’s whims.
Artwork Information
Year
2022
Materials
Acrylic, oil, and spray paint on canvas
Authentication
The work comes with a Certification of Authenticity signed by the Co-Founder of Tappan
Dimensions
72 x 60 inches
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text: 310-388-3425
email: [email protected]
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About the Artist
Michael Harnish
Michael Harnish begins his painting process by first making paper collages, utilizing imagery pulled from various sources including botanical books, fashion magazines, and commercial signage in his native Southern California. These collages then become the inspiration for his paintings—sometimes accurate depictions of the original collage, other times improvisation takes the lead once the brush hits the canvas. Flora takes a central role in Harnish’s works, with local cactus and agave played off tropical plants and grocery store orchids—combining a high/low aesthetic in an exhilarating synthesis. Harnish has exhibited widely through out Southern California and in London.
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This service is currently unavailable,
sorry for the inconvenience.
Pair it with a frame
Frame options are for visualization purposes only.
FRAME STYLE
MATTING SIZE
BUILDING YOUR EXPERIENCE
powered by Blankwall
Take a few steps back and let your camera see more of the scene.
powered by Blankwall
Was this experience helpful?
In his new body of work, Michael Harnish cuts out and assembles imagery from contemporary and vintage fashion magazines and botanical books, building relationships across seemingly distant visual genres. Hard, gestural cuts and tears contrast with tonal gradations and deliberately haphazard compositional moves. Harnish’s work also demonstrates a sensitivity to color through his combination of muted pastel tones and saturated fluorescents.
He calls his style “California Romanticism” — semi-wild and photogenic landscapes interrupted by tattered street advertisements. In Shangri-La, the works are installed as a montage, reading off each other as color, form, and imagery echo throughout the exhibition. A cartoonish depiction of a Japanese woodblock print is juxtaposed against a pink sky over the ocean at sunset, rich gold and black brocade set off a brushy rendering of a hanging fern, while painterly applications of bold swaths of color intersperse the picture planes throughout the works. The paintings in Shangri-La reflect glimpses of place, memory, and illusion that tell a story unique to the artist’s whims.