Renaissance Days

Renaissance Days

With the closing of the very successful, Jeffrey Harris, exhibition, Renaissance Days, an exhibition of recent paintings, the Harris Smiths would like to restock and thank our patrons, greatly, for their appreciation. The well deserved and much recommended show deserved enormous acclaim. Jeffrey Harris has been diligently working away on this small set of paintings, in-between exhibitions, for about as long as the Harris Smiths have known one another. The first time New Zealand saw a similar group of paintings was back in the seventies in a successful show, in Wellington. The small size were like precious keepsakes, reminiscent of the late Victorian era where, children and family members were the subject of painters and, early photographers. Similarly, more recently, contemporary, American, figurative painters such as the satirical paintings of John Currin, have also reflected on a bygone era of Edwardian society portraits and Currin is equally influenced by old master painters from the Renaissance through to Mannerism. Also, the transcendental, philosophy of Henry David Thoreau's "Walden or, Life in the Woods", springs to mind. 

Jeffrey Harris rose to critical acclaim, in New Zealand, from the seventies through to the eighties with his American debut, in the 1982, Carnegie International, exhibition, in Pittsburgh. This was followed by a move to Melbourne, Australia, in the eighties where, Harris stayed for a further, fifteen years. Australia is also, well rewarded, by the early post colonial, Heidelberg School painters of the era, artists like Charles Conder, Arthur Streeton and Frederick McCubbin. Harris's petit society paintings are also of this class, although, the paintings of the Heidelberg School are traditionally larger in size with similar post English memoirs of the late Victorian era being common themes; families and the figure in the landscape. The Renaissance of a society, long past, for the post colonial outposts from England, Australia and New Zealand. However, Harris, holds the Italian and Northern Renaissance, portraiture work, closer to heart. Jeffrey Harris continues on the small series of paintings, looking, reading, traveling occasionally and absorbing the music, Durer's "Saint Jerome in His Study". 

 Jeffrey Harris looks forward to the Harris Smiths next trip to Italy with another, of the very scholarly and much anticipated, old master, Renaissance art, tours. Society beckons Venice. The exhibition, Jeffrey Harris Renaissance Days, continues with the catalogue address and an impressive book to compliment the fashionable, small, works, well housed in many private and public collections. The continued series of current, Jeffrey Harris, paintings would not be out of place in any society rooms or museums, worldwide. The current address of international sympathy needs to be redressed from London to New York. Current fashions indicate well and Jeffrey Harris is well placed in and, amongst, this forum. We look forward to the current patronage.

From Bellini to Bernini

From Bellini to Bernini

Flying in from Paris to Venice, the water taxi ride, from the airport, is always worth experiencing. Venice is more famous for the Venetian school of painting than the tourist book gondola rides would allow you to observe. Titian the giant heavy weight of the Venice school of painting came out of a tradition of Bellini, another Venetian painter famous for his Madonnas and one favorite resides in the Accademia, in Venice. Churches are also a must, with the church ticket for viewing the well learned collection of masterpieces that adorn the churches, being well worth the tour. Most people do love getting lost down the never ending arcades enroute to the next art venue. There are also much deserved and recommended, gourmet delight, fish restaurants, to observe.

Following through with the research of European people living abroad there are always at least a couple of old master exhibitions on during any trip throughout Italy. Jeffrey Harris and Nicole Page-Smith started their love affair with Italy during Melbourne days together as artists where, several books were available on the Italian Renaissance, due to the large population of Italians living in Melbourne, Australia. Although, the Melbourne, National gallery, does host a few examples of Italian master paintings, the main thrust of the collection is predominately fashionable, precolonial, paintings from London or masters from the late 1800's such as John William Waterhouse, an English painter known for his Pre-Raphaelite style. They do boast a Constable, cloud painting, in their collection but from memory, the work is not on view. A Rembrandt is prominently displayed but one longs for the Italian cafes and restaurants, down the street, for a lunch retreat. 

The Harris Smiths have enjoyed publicity in their careers and the business decision together in New Zealand has proved fruitful with several trips to Italy being the result of much hard work. The Harris Smiths library of Italian Renaissance books is a treasure they both preserve. Literary establishment is something New Zealand is famous for so most of your great literary classics are available in the local bookstores and Dunedin is a university town so, the rest of the books available are curriculum texts. Unfortunately, the post English settlement are poor cousins next to displays of Italian Renaissance art in major towns like London but given the small size of New Zealand, we have had a rewarding group of contemporary individuals both in literary circles and the contemporary art arena. 

Every trip to Italy is a blessing for the Harris Smiths Italian love affair. Florence is a magical place for a refinement of taste. Other trips have included Bologna, Ferrara, Padua, Ravenna, Rome, Naples and more. The church sculptures of Bernini, in Rome, for example, nominated in most art history books on the subject, are a highlight, with Papal collections also worth the visit. Italian masters of sculpture and painting are also well documented in other main European centers such as Paris, London and Vienna. Jeffrey Harris has a current solo exhibition of recent, small, paintings, influenced by Renaissance painting, now on display in Dunedin. Jeffrey Harris and Nicole Page-Smith are both heavily influenced by their trips to Europe. After seeing the Florentine Italian Renaissance sculpture for the first time, Nicole Page-Smith, decided, the smaller scale of the Florentine masters, almost half life-size, was the perfect size for sculpture. Nicole Page-Smith's writing is also influenced by the humanist tradition and Renaissance theory. Florence, the much loved city of gold has so many painting masterpieces you feel in need of a week stay, a joy usually only reserved for much larger cities. The favorite church bound destination, for gold of a different reflection, would have to be Ravenna, for Early Christian, Byzantine mosaics. 

Photographs by Nicole Page-Smith