“I can’t stay away from summer and pools,” says Tracey Sylvester Harris, who also goes by the name T.S. Harris. “I’m just obsessed.” For Summertime, her 10th anniversary show at Skidmore Contemporary Art in Santa Monica, the San Luis Obispo, California, based painter is bringing back her greatest hits in a big way. 
Poolside Beauty, oil on canvas, 36 x 36"Divers, underwater figures, dynamically cropped sunbathers in retro suits—Harris’ lexicon is pure California. Her vibrant, outsized paintings nod to David Hockney and Richard Diebenkorn while channeling the glamorous heroines of classic film.
“The point is not who this person is to me,” says Harris of her mid-20th century reference material. “I want the viewer to be able to look at it and imagine or reflect on it and create their own narrative around it.”
“There is a universal quality to Harris’ subjects; viewers may feel that they know these women, or perhaps, see themselves in her paintings,” notes Mirabelle Alan of Skidmore Contemporary Art. “Without a definite time, place or person, audiences can visualize their own stories within a Harris painting, and perhaps relax in the sun or in a pool alongside her figures.”
Ooh La La, oil on canvas, 48 x 48"Born from a found photo of a woman and child at the beach, Harris’ Lost Holiday series continues in this show, serving up feelings of fading summer and wistful nostalgia. “Those times of taking the kids to the beach or the pool, wanting it to slow down…the fleeting moments. It just goes so fast,” says Harris, whose own children are now grown.
New Goggles, oil on canvas, 36 x 24"With an impressive curriculum vitae that features 10 solo shows at Skidmore and 15 of her paintings appearing in the Annette Bening film “The Face of Love,” it’s clear Harris’ brand of California cool has staying power. Once again tapped for its fresh coastal energy, Harris’ work was recently selected by the Delta Airlines curatorial team to welcome travelers at their newly renovated Los Angeles International Airport lounge. “I’m proud to be one of their California artists,” says Harris. “They’re very committed to bringing original, regional work [to] their sky lounges.”
Diving Man, oil on canvas, 48 x 24"Harris’ practice over the past decade is both a variation and a meditation on a theme. “I kept coming back to the figure as my ultimate love,” says Harris, who crops source imagery to give it a “splashy,” dynamic feel and a hint of mystery. “I’m very drawn to high contrast with the bright sun and the dark shadows,” she says. Calling out a bold compositional sense as one of her “little superpowers,” the artist uses formal tools to serve the emotional quality of each piece.
“Sun drenched, summer, anything with water, a little bit of Hollywood creeps into my work,” says Harris. Pointing to more thoughtful intentions in her mature work, Harris says, “I think it’s deepened my feelings on life being fleeting, and precious, and bittersweet.”
“Those beautiful moments at the beach, they come and they go,” she says. “Let me hold on to this.” —
Skidmore Contemporary Art
2525 Michigan Avenue, B-4 • Santa Monica, CA 90404
(310) 828-5070 • www.skidmorecontemporaryart.com
Powered by Froala Editor
