Drew Harris returns to Chicago, twenty years after his last solo exhibition held in 2002 with an upcoming solo exhibition, The Magnetic North Paintings, at 33 Contemporary Gallery in Chicago, opening September 16, 2022 and continues to November 4, 2022
Drew Harris is a Canadian artist currently living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His body of work largely consists of abstract paintings. His paintings exist in a complex construct of tension, beauty, chaos, control and freedom; all coexisting side by side. To trace Harris’s work across time is to observe his devotion to painting as an act of respect for life and a way to assimilate the constantly changing world around him.
“In The Magnetic North Paintings, I have used the power of abstraction to express my emotional attachment to the land and the weather that shaped my early years in Canada. I have been blessed to have traveled a good percentage of our blue planet, but always, there was a sense of knowing true north, and without fail, despite where I was, I could point to home, to my magnetic north.” Drew Harris
To observe Drew’s work for the first time is to embark on a journey, traveling roads and valleys full of twists and turns, and open quiet spaces. His surfaces are so intensely layered and rich that the physicality of the work becomes experiential to our senses. When you least expect it, there it is, the line. Sometimes it’s vertical, whereas other times it is horizontal, thick, thin, painted, or implied. There are times when it divides and other times it unites. But, it’s always there.
“My paintings are about longing and the loneliness that comes with being a foreigner in a land that is not my home. During the last two years of a global pandemic, I became intensely reflective of my home country of Canada.”
Drew Harris
About Drew Harris:
Drew Harris began his lifelong art career as a designer and illustrator. In the 80s and 90s, he quickly rose to become Design Director at Communiqué Ltd, a leading, design and marketing agency in Toronto, that spearheaded a major shift change in consumer and corporate habits in Canada and the USA.
Drew retired at age 30 to begin a career as an abstract painter exhibiting globally from Singapore to Toronto, Melbourne to Chicago, and New York. He has exhibited globally and boasts an impressive selection of Corporate and Private collections.
The Magnetic North Paintings by Drew Harris
Exhibitions Dates: September 16 to November 4, 2022
Opening Reception: Friday, September 16
Time: 7 pm to 10 pm
33 Contemporary Gallery
4th Floor
Zhou B Art Center
1029 W. 35th St, Chicago, IL 60609
Gallery Hours: By appointment
Contact: 708-837-4534 (Sergio Gomez)
Website: www.33contemporary.com
