A Personality artist

By: Tal Peer

Rachel T Harris is an abstract expressionistic artist based in Downtown Los Angeles. Born and raised in Southern California, Rachel studied as an artist and designer at California College of the Arts, as well as Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.

Her show is inspired by Red tides. Red tides are a natural phenomenon that occurs in the ocean when the eco-system is out of balance and the production of natural toxins in algae occurs. The visual effect is quite electric, the ocean becomes florescent and neon; created in natural toxicity. A representation of life; sometimes the most vivid and interesting of human interactions is when we are out of balance and pushed to extreme. When Rachel first saw this creation was when she was ten years old and it left a deep impact that something so wrong could appear so beautiful. 

In her previous show “Strung Out” based on psychedelic rock, Harris expressed with neons and carried some of those techniques into this series. The art is large-scale abstract, sizes ranging from 4-8 feet; using plaster, resin, and dies on canvas or plexi glass. The works are colored dark black, deep blues and neon greens to mimic the natural ocean pallet. 

Rachel will also be donating a percentage of the proceeds to Oceanic, a foundation to keep plastic out of the water. 

Rachel aims to be a “personality artist.” By pulling back the curtain on the artistic process and inviting the viewer into her world, she creates a space for experimentation, exploration, and challenging the traditional notions of the “face behind the work.”

First Release of Red Tides during Art Basel, Miami, in The Ballroom, Fountain Le Bleau Hotel in Miami December 7-10, 2017.