Born in 1976 in Santa Rosa, California, USA
Lives and works in Los Angeles, California, USA
Zach Harris’s carved panel paintings unfold complex utopian and dystopian worlds. His psychedelic visions, which almost verge on abstraction, immerse viewers in the unfathomable depths of mysterious cosmologies. The art-historical density of his aesthetics is haunting, in a sense similar to that of late-nineteenth-century symbolism. While the bright coloring of his obsessively detailed paintings is reminiscent of the highly demanding ornamental quality of Persian miniatures, his intricate hand- or laser-engraved frames evoke the elaborate woodwork of Christian altarpieces. Harris is a fervent practitioner of meditation, and the meticulous repetition of painted or carved patterns and motifs within his compositions operates like a mantra. At the same time, it creates a hallucinatory play between the materiality of the relief and its optical illusion, bringing to mind the radial vibrancy and spiritual dimension of Tibetan mandalas. His syncretic art suggests timeless rituals, which, whether lost or prescient, have yet to be deciphered.
Harris’s work is included in the collections of the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, among others.
education
2006
MFA, Hunter College, New York, NY
1999
BA, Bard College, Red Hook, NY
solo shows
2021
- Zero Hour, Perrotin, New York, NY
2019
- Studies for 20/20, David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2018
- Sunset Strips to Soul, Perrotin, Seoul, South Korea
2017
- Purple Cloud, Perrotin, Paris, France
2015
- Must Chill, Feuer/Mesler Gallery, New York, NY
2013
- Echo Parked In A No Vex Cave, David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Central Park In A No Vex Cave, Zach Feuer, New York, NY
2009
- Requiem Reversals, Max Protetch Gallery, New York, NY
- Light Rain Cast No Shadow, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR
2007
- Pagan Dirt, Never Work Gallery, New York, NY
2005
- Perimeter Gallery, Belfast, ME
2003
- Diamentina Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
group shows
2022
- Group exhibition, curated by Chris Johanson, Altman Siegal, San Francisco, CA
2017
- Please fasten your seat belt as we are experiencing some turbulence, Leo Xu Projects, Shanghai, China
2015
- Unorthodox, curated by Jens Hoffman, Kelly Taxter and Daniel S. Palmer, The Jewish Museum, New York, NY
- Death Ship: Tribute to H.C. Westermann, The Pit, Los Angeles, CA
- Deep Dark Submersion, curated by Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer, Romer Young Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2014
- Left Coast: Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
2013
- Tapping the Third Realm, Ben Maltz Gallery, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA; Laband Art Gallery, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
2012
- Made in L.A, 2012, organized by the Hammer Museum and LAXART, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
- A Perfect Die, Fleisher Ollman Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
- More and Different Flags, Marlborough Gallery, New York, NY
2011
- Brian Calvin, Charles Garabedian, Zach Harris, John McAllister, David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- New Age End of the World, Taxter and Spengemann Gallery, New York, NY
- Shape of the Problem, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR,
- Midnight at Malibu: a nocturnal survey of contemporary Los Angeles artists, Meulensteen Gallery, New York, NY
2010
- The Alchemy of Things Unknown, Leila Khastoo Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Painting Comes Alive, Art Jail, New York, NY
- June Gloom, Country Club Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008
- Implant, organized by The Horticultural Society of New York, The UBS Art Gallery, New York, NY
2004
- Visionaries, The Makor Institute, New York, NY
2003
- Frederieke Taylor Gallery, New York, NY
2001
- After Image, The New York Studio School Gallery, New York, NY
public collections
- Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
- Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles, CA
- Santa Barbara Museum, Santa Barbara, CA
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
- Princeton University Museum, Princeton, NJ
- Rachofsky Collection, Dallas, TX
