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Paul Harryn Biography | Portfolio
I was trained in traditional materials, techniques, design, and subject matter (ie., still life, portraits, figure drawing, and landscapes). At that time I had a particular interest in contour line drawing and being able to capture the essential gesture of a figure or event and the ambiance and mood of the environment. I’ve always been interested in having my work express an idea and communicate with the audience. At this time, in the mid seventies, I would say that my major influences were Franz Halls, Tiepolo, Cezanne, and Andre Masson. This interest in gesture and expression later led me into the study of works by Kandinsky, Klee, Pollock, DeKooning, and particularly Gorky. This also opened the door to an understanding and passion for abstraction and experimentation in art, music, and poetry. As my work began to mature from student, post-student to professional exhibiting artist in the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s I was fortunate to be on the cusp of a revitalized art market that brought young artists from around the globe to major cities and galleries throughout the US, and particularly New York. This was a period of intense change, competition, and dialogue in the arts. It was also a period of intense maturity for the young artists that were riding that wave. As a result, I would have to say that my first seriously mature body of work was The Re-Enchantment Series in 1984. Even though I was exhibiting in Philadelphia and New York since the late ‘70’s, The Re-Enchantment Series marked the first cohesive body of work that refined and distilled my ‘vision’ into a unique style. Between 1984 and 1988 I continued to experiment with the Re-Enchanment ideas of improvisational painting, automatism, glazing techniques, simultaneity, and tensions between image and abstraction. During this time I was also traveling back and forth to Los Angeles and New Mexico for exhibitions and study of the various Native American cultures. During these extended visits I rented studio space in Venice, CA. Even though I enjoyed the ferocious intensity of the New York art scene from ‘78 thru ‘84, the dynamics had begun to shift. California offered a much more conducive environment for self awareness and experimentation. After my Moon Tigers exhibition in LA during the summer of ‘88, I returned to my Bethlehem studio in October just in time for cold weather and the onset of winter. This is when the birthing of Signals and Cells began. Signals and Cells was informed by a number of interests: I decided to return to very traditional materials and techniques in order to represent very complex themes associated with dreams, the sub-conscious, magic, and myths. I started using oil paint on Belgium linen. In addition, I began working with black and white paint to eliminate the distraction of color in order to more clearly understand the nature of my image, composition, and gesture. I was also interested in returning to the basics of painting and alchemy. Signal and Cells eventually culminated in a series of very colorful watercolors entitled Neuro Series and a return to LA for exhibitions and four months of experimentation at my Venice studio. I spent at least one day a week at the Getty Museum in Malibu to study their collection of Medieval paintings and read about the materials and alchemy of that period. The summer of ‘93 led to experimentation with very intense Chinese pigments mixed with polymers and mica, a reacquaintance with a new line of Golden Acrylic paints that had a wonderful texture and transparency, a coarse in Sumi-e painting by a Japanese master, 50 works on paper entitled Fifty Mysteries, an introduction to ‘authentic’ Flamenco music, and a residency at Palenville Art Colony in New York. It was in Palenville where I created an additional fifty works on paper entitled Genesis that began the To Tell a Vision series. During this time I also began to intensely study the works of Twombly, Gorky, Masson, Miro, Tapies, and a relatively unknown artist named Mompo. My fascination with Spanish culture and traditions continued to fuel the TTAV series which led to the following precepts: Paintings that are void of preconceived imagery. Informed by ‘automatism’ and a painting technique that is built upon numerous layers whereas the resulting image is an amalgamation of the best from each layering process. Experimentation with Chinese pigments, inks, and gestural image. Application to as many different mediums as possible ( ie., pottery, fabric, hand-made paper, canvas, wood, video, poetry, and music). By the end of 1998, the To Tell a Vision series encompassed more than 1200 works of art, numerous trips to Spain, Los Angeles, and New Mexico, private and corporate commissions, as well as a visit to my studio by the legendary Flamenco grande - Paco D’Lucia. Since my work is informed by a diverse number of sources, I’m often presented with the challenge of merging these ideas and techniques into a decipherable and homogeneous format. As a result my paintings are multi-layered, sometimes consisting of as many as fifty paintings and/or events on one painting. Through each layer or sub-painting I decide what is most pertinent, interesting, and innovative. I apply a resist to those areas to ‘save’ them while I apply yet another layer or sub-painting; remove the resist and continue this process fifty or sixty times. Sometimes what I saved previously does not make it to the final edit. It’s a very fluid and Darwinian process resulting in paintings that come to conclusion when they achieve an innate balance between past and present. In 1997 I started to visit France for extended periods to continue to study some of the great art produced in Europe. During one of my trips I visited Napolean’s Tomb. A magnificent piece of architecture, but what fascinated me the most was the inlaid marble and granite accented by a beautiful shade of scarlet red and gold leaf. I immediately began taking notes about the combinations and subtleties of color in the granite and marble. I filled a notebook with color recipes I never noticed before. When I returned to Bethlehem I began the Paris Paintings. | |||||||
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