New paintings by Jeffrey Harris

Jeffrey Harris, Possession, 2021, oil on board, 32.4 x 40.9 cm. Courtesy of the artist and {Suite}

Bodies adorned with lashings and egg-like shapes float within fluid landscapes. Disembodied eyes and heads, snakes, crucifixes and phallic weaponry become enigmatic symbols that give the impression of a dream or nightmare begging to be decoded. 

Hailed as one of the most significant artists of the 1970s within Aotearoa (New Zealand), Jeffrey Harris’s artistic style has constantly evolved while continuing to revisit familiar symbolic motifs. Drawing inspiration from New Zealand art history by harking back to a distinctly regionalist style, here Harris once again returns to the iconography of the cross—a subject that, when first painted by the artist, was influenced by the crucifixion paintings of Francis Bacon. Utilising the scene as a compositional device and symbol for human suffering rather than exploring purely religious aspects, Harris beckons the viewer into surreal and unsettling worlds. 

The exhibition is the artist’s first of new paintings in 10 years and his first exhibition in Tāmaki Makaurau in over 20 years.

Jeffrey Harris, Female and Male, 2021, oil on board, 40 x 30.9 cm. Courtesy of the artist and {Suite}

Jeffrey Harris. Installation view, {Suite} Ponsonby, March 2021. Courtesy of the artist and {Suite}

Jeffrey Harris, Family, 2021, oil on board, 32.3 x 40.7 cm. Courtesy of the artist and {Suite}

Jeffrey Harris, Crucifixion and Figures in a Landscape, 2021, oil on board, 31 x 42.1 cm. Courtesy of the artist and {Suite}

Jeffrey Harris, Parallax, 2021, oil on board, 31.8 x 38 cm. Courtesy of the artist and {Suite}

Jeffrey Harris, Deposition, 2021, oil on board, 42.8 x 31.8 cm. Courtesy of the artist and {Suite}

Jeffrey Harris is on view at {Suite} Ponsonby, Tāmaki Makaurau, until 10 April 2021

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