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Works
Featured:
FS Corrales: "Sunnytime"
FS Menaul: "When Bob retired he felt
impelled to hunt down the last three bucks"
FS Rio Grande: "Falling Leaves"
Website:
www.artisok.com
O.K. Harris—Biography
A native New Mexican, O.K. Harris has lived in Albuquerque most of his life.
He has a large studio in the North Valley, where he grew up. his father and
mother were both artists and always told O.K. to dream big, live every day
and live every dream. His grandfather, Karl Hauert, was a master welder and
was Harris' inspiration from an early age to create with metal.
Harris'
imagination and appreciation of New Mexico's vastly diverse
cultural and physical environment is readily apparent in his
sculpture. A graduate of the School of Fine Arts at the University
of New Mexico, Harris' artistic career not only has incorporated
numerous media in his own art, but also has involved many aspects
of the arts from being an artistic director of a national magazine
to being an illustrator for a subcontractor, owner of his own
gallery and local art personality, who donates his sculptures
to further the cause of scores of charitable organizations.
Today, all of these varied artistic experiences and the continual
pursuit of his own distinctive sculptural style have combined
to make him a high profile artist who lives his art daily and
shares it with many.
The
art of O.K. Harris is a direct reflection of his warm, humorous
and playful personality. The sheer physical and emotional appeal
of his animated sculptures transcends age, cultural, and social
boundaries. His art reminds the viewer of the simple joys of
youth. Ownership of his art provides daily visits with a fountain
of youth that is O.K. Harris.
Harris'
unique sculptures are made of steel. Depending upon the client's
personal preferences, Harris uses paint on all or just parts
of his sculptures. He may also leave his art completely natural,
which develops it's own rigorous patina that relates to the
Southwest's particular climate and aesthetics. Harris invites
the viewer to not only look at, but touch, his art with their
eyes, hands, and hearts.
His thorough comprehension of form and gesture adds life to the many creatures
he sculpts. His steel sculpture is identifiable by the heavy textures he adds
to the real-life, three-dimensional shapes of his birds, lizards, sea creatures,
and many other animals; real and imagined. The scale of the sculpture can range
from a small snail that can be held in one hand to dragons and mermaids that
weigh tons and impose their presence in his studio.
Currently,
O.K. Harris exhibits his art at his own gallery, Art is Ok
Gallery, in Albuquerque, New Mexico and in numerous other galleries
and collections from North Carolina to Sheridan, Oregon. |
