"Those who enjoy being challenged by works of art, who are prepared to run the risk of feeling far less sure of themselves than when first walking through an exhibition door, will find much to engage with here."
Mark Coton, Journalist & Writer.
2009, December
Group Exhibition. Loitering with Intent, Project Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
2009, November
Solo Exhibition. DON'T, College Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
2006 Scratching the Surface, Vitreous Gallery. Truro, U.K.
2005 Weathered Language, The Book Gallery. St. Ives, U.K.
2002 Place Belong Me; Place Belong You. Jersey Galleries. Ealing, U.K.
2001 Scratching the Surface. Australian High Commission. London, U.K.
1999 Coming Out. The Loft, Ballarat. Australia
1998 Run After Your Food. Whistler’s Cottage Gallery, Geelong. Australia
2005 St.Ives September Fringe Festival, Open Studio, Cornwall .U.K.
2005 Battersea Art Fair London U.K.
2004 St.Ives September Fringe Festival, Open Studio, Cornwall .U.K.
2002 3 Women Artists: Alethea Garstin / Dora Holzhandler / Cheryl Harrison - The Market House Gallery, Cornwall U.K.
2002 Battersea Art Fair London U.K.
2005 Christmas Show, Vitreous Gallery, Cornwall .U.K.<
2002 The Lyn Strover Gallery. Cambridge.
2002 Hays Gallery. London, U.K.
2002 Plumbline Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall U.K.
2001 Pitshanger Manor Gallery. Ealing .U.K.
2001 Open Exhibition: Orleans House Gallery. Twickenham .U.K.
2001 Plumbline Gallery. St. Ives, Cornwall U.K.
2000 A & I Exhibition, Kensington. London U.K.
1998 Regular Artists’ Group. Whistler’s Cottage Gallery, Geelong
1998 Graduate Exhibition. University of Ballarat
1998 Webster Group. Ballarat
1998 York Street Community Centre, Ballarat
1997 Ballarat Society of Artists
1995 Geelong Art Show
2006 Artists in Britain since 1945 [new edition] October 2006
2006 Inside Cornwall. September 2006
2005 The Guardian
2005 The Book Gallery. Exhibition Catalogue
2005 Times & Echo
2002 Art Listing, Inside Cornwall. September 2002
2001 Reading Room Gallery. AN Magazine: What’s On; October 2001
2001 Cheryl Harrison, Pictures, Prints and Galleries. IDH Book*, p.439
2000 Exhibitors; A & I Magazine. Exhibition Catalogue
1997 12th Nov. Flying the Flag for the Avenue. The Courier, Australia
‘[Harrison’s] … work is acrylic / mixed media on canvas and reflects her interest in the beauty of nature juxtaposed with the effects of humankind’s manipulation of nature for practical, historical and artistic purposes.’ [Australian High Commission. UK. September 2001]
‘Cheryl Harrison … fast emerging as a talented abstract artist.’ [Inside Cornwall. September 2002]
‘The beauty of nature and the intrigue within humanity’s vast imposition – this is the substance of Cheryl’s paintings.’ [National Trust Diary. 2002]
Shortly after moving to her adopted home in New Mexico Agnes Martin
spoke of how “it is more important to figure out where you want
to be than what it is you want to do. First you need to find out where
you need to be and then you can do what you need to do.”
Australian-born artist Cheryl Harrison would concur with this sentiment.
She speaks of being almost physically seized by St Ives on her first
visit. “I’ve travelled all over the world and never found
anywhere where I felt so immediately at home.”
“Weathered Language” at The Book Gallery on Chapel Street
is Harrison’s first solo exhibition in the town and surely marks
one of the most impressive and powerful debuts for many a year.
Harrison rejects a didactic approach to her work, preferring to leave
viewers free to formulate their own responses, to decode a language
which retains an intriguing coherence through everyday encounters (as
in the moving “Street Talk”) to immense, brooding themes,
perhaps hinting at some ancient menace not yet subdued (the hugely impressive
“Blatant”).
Images of ladders and windows hint at an inner journey, a descent into
the human psyche which is often far from comfortable (“Dark Series”,
“The Math”) yet the ordeal is exhilarating for being shared.
The thunderous disquiet provoked by “Blatant” is balanced
by the quiet radiance of “Things To Come” and the restful
“Shine”.
Paintings from the Dark Series intermingle with the quirky “Beautiful
Crazy” and the buoyant “Perpetual”.
Those who enjoy being challenged by works of art, who are prepared to
run the risk of feeling far less sure of themselves than when first
walking through an exhibition door, will find much to engage with here.
The paintings blend exceptionally well with the impressive interior
of The Book Gallery and can be viewed from 2.00pm to 5.00pm Monday to
Saturday until 23 July, or by appointment
Review by Mark Coton, Journalist & Writer. July 2005.