Michele's Pastel

Howard's Abstraction

What really happens when we look at something? What takes place in that instantaneous swirl of imperceptible activity involving the object, the eye, and the bundle of thoughts, emotions, associations, and imagination that together produce what we see? Howard Harris has spent years reflecting on the phenomenon of perception and then translating his inquiry into visual expression. The result is striking imagery in a groundbreaking form that stretches the boundaries of photographic art.

Meanwhile, award-winning painter Michele Harris uses soft pastels, sometimes in combination with watercolors or oils, to express the extraordinary beauty she discovers in the world, often in simple, ordinary aspects of life. Her portraits frequently focus on women and children, while her landscapes and still life paintings celebrate the natural world. A New York City art critic and former curator has praised Michele’s work for the “dignity, softness, strength, and humanity” with which she endows her subjects.

Howard’s dimensional photographic constructions and Michele’s paintings are paired in Double Vision, a two-artist show opening Sept. 2 at Sugarman Peterson Gallery in Santa Fe and running through Sept. 23. 

Along with independent works by each artist, Double Vision also presents several sets of what could be called “triple vision” expression. Each wall-mounted set is based on a single image interpreted in three distinct artistic forms: Howard’s original large-scale, art-quality photographic print; his sometimes-abstracted dimensional construction based on that photograph; and Michele’s painting inspired by the same photo. Side by side, the pieces reflect the subtle and not-so-subtle ways perception and creative intent influence how we see the world.

Much of the work in Double Vision emerged from a winter 2016 visit the couple made to the African countries of Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Ethiopia. The flash of brilliant color in a kingfisher’s feathers; the serene beauty of a young Maasai woman and her baby; the warm colors and abstract forms of Maasai cattle in a close-packed herd—virtually everywhere they turned, the artists were struck by scenes they felt compelled to document and later translate into their respective forms of art.

Howard Harris is a Denver native whose 35-year pre-fine-art career combined design and technology in the field of direct marketing. He holds a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute and a Master of Industrial Design from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. His dimensional constructions involve a photographic image superimposed on a subtle grid structure. Each image is mounted twice, effectively on top of itself, on two clear acrylic surfaces. Because the viewer is looking through multiple surfaces with space between the layers, refraction causes the light to bend, altering the image’s appearance ever so slightly. In addition, Howard may print one version of the image larger than the other, or the two may be offset, further contributing to a sense of dimensionality and optical interest. “What has fascinated me from the beginning is Howard’s process and the beautiful results it creates,” notes Sugarman Peterson Gallery co-owner Michael Sugarman. “Although hung on the wall, the pieces have a sculptural, three-dimensional quality. Howard’s work is its own genre.”

Michele, raised in St. Louis, studied at Kansas City Art Institute and earned an Industrial Design degree from the Philadelphia College of Art (now known as the University of the Arts). When traveling, she and Howard find themselves frequently stopping at the same instant, drawn to the same scene and even the same details within a scene. Although they have collaborated on a number of creative projects over the years, Double Vision represents their first shared exhibition. “We’ve always thought about it, but the opportunity never presented itself before,” Howard says. “We’re both very excited.”