• Artist Statement •
Born
1975, Portland OR. Studied and graduated with a BFA
from The Pacific Northwest College of Art.
"A day does not pass that I do not consider
painting. If I can not be in my studio, I
paint portraits in my mind."
As a child I began painting with my
father; who painted his entire life as a
commercial and fine artist. I painted on almost
anything; scraps of plywood, paper, furniture, leaves
and even my father's one-good pair-of-pants. I began
to see the world around me as a canvas.
While I was very young I began collecting stories;
first from my families recollection of the past, then
from books. Soon after graduating high school,
I hit the road, to explore the United States and
Mexico, hitch- hiking and hopping freight
trains. During this exploration, I began
collecting stories from folks I met along my
route. Because of the transitory nature of
this sort of traveling, I was taken into
confidence by many individuals and I found
myself enriched by their intimate stories and
reflections. I found a common language carried
through their facial expressions, gestures,
movements, and symbols. It's that, story in the
told through the eyes, the hands the
expression, that consumes my work; the
individual story, and how that is shared by
the group experience.
I continued studying form, color, light, art history
and technique in school. After graduating, my passion
for study became even greater.
A day does not pass, that I do not consider
painting. If I cannot be in my studio, I
paint portraits in my mind.
Painting, to me, is not a choice, but as simple as
the need to tie one's shoes or move the body after a
long rest.
My inspiration, comes from the love of nature,
literature, music, dance, and all visual mediums but
is also found in such things as the bark of a tree, ,
phone booths surfaces, passing freight
trains, crushed wings, broken glass, gasoline
puddles, unbleached titanium, a heel against the
womb, a nosebleed, a double rainbow, a cougar roaming
through Chicago, the lullaby of a mother, and a
stubborn refusal to give in, or to give up.
I embrace hope.
I long for a world that makes room for all beings and
stitches it's flags not from the blood of tyranny and
greed but from the threads of compassion, respect and
reverence for all.
It's in this spirit that these paintings are created
& shared.
•
Bio •
Ariana
Harley, resides and works in Portland Oregon.
Born, 1975 in Portland OR.
Bachelor of Fine Arts Pacific Northwest College of
Art 1999.
EXHIBITIONS
2007
Chrisman Gallery, Portland, OR
Seven Corners Gallery, Portland OR
Tiger Bar, Portland OR, “Metal Heart”
Launch Pad Gallery, Portland OR
2006
Tiger Bar, Portland OR, “If He is Fire”
Chrisman Gallery, Portland OR “Feathers & Tar”
Bealulahland, Portland OR
Red & Black Cafe, Portland OR
2005
Pacific Northewst College of Art, Portland OR
2004
Itisness Gallery, Portland OR, “Birdsong”
2003
Medusa Gallery, Portland OR “Shipwrecked”
Little Wing Cafe, Portland OR
Morning Star Cafe, Portland OR
2002
Blue Catfish Gallery, Portland OR, “Guns &
Butter”
2001
Itisness Gallery, Portland Or
1999
Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland OR,
“Thesis”
