Richard Harrison

Friedrichs Pontone brings acclaimed British artist, Richard Harrison, to New York for his first one-man show at the gallery. This collection of paintings is an exciting introduction to Harrison’s tempestuous and mercurial style, where richly-colored layers of expressively-handled paint describe visions of fantastic and sublime landscape, mythical encounters and archetypal characters.

Elemental features a selection of Harrison's recent works, showcasing his signature style of bold colors, dynamic compositions, and intricate layers. Drawing inspiration from sources as diverse as the natural world, the urban landscape, and the history of abstract art, Harrison's paintings are a masterclass in color and form. With a career spanning over three decades, Richard Harrison has established himself as one of the leading artists of his generation. His work combines a rigorous formal approach with a deep engagement with nature and the history of art, resulting in a body of work that is both visually stunning and intellectually stimulating.

Realized in a welter of texture and vigorous handling, Harrison’s paintings pursue and describe an arc of frantic emotional engagement with both medium and subject. Harrison’s palette is intense: burnt oranges, acid greens and volcanic reds vibrate against icy blue-whites and charcoal blacks. This is a hallucinatory world, full of sensory overload and nervous, frenetic energy. Using the language of abstraction to capture the essence of the natural world, his paintings evoke the play of light and shadow, the movement of wind and water, and the textures of rocks and trees. They are at once abstract and representational, inviting the viewer to experience the landscape in a new way.

Born in Liverpool in 1954, Harrison studied Medieval History at Cambridge University before receiving a BFA and MFA in Painting from Chelsea School of Art. The critic Brian Sewell was an early champion of Harrison's work, recognizing its committed, insistent nature. He described the artist as 'a visionary prophet' and his paintings as 'big, bold, beautiful, and threatening.'